Day 10 (02/04/15): I was thinking about the Philippians 4 passage again. Especially at the end where Paul encourages the believers to look to him as an example. To take the things he has said, taught them, and done himself, and follow that example.
So, two veins of thought. From the perspective of the Philippians and from the perspective of Paul.
From the perspective of the Philippians, we are to following the example of Paul himself. We can, I think, take that a step further and be following the example of other Godly believers too. No, they aren't apostles who have seen the risen Christ, but they are Godly men and women who have devoted themselves to the teachings of the Bible and to living that out day-to-day.
If you don't know anyone like that I would have two suggestions for you. Number 1, find someone. It shouldn't be too hard to look at the people that you know and find someone who is very Godly. Finds ways to spend time in prayer with them (prayer meeting, small group, etc.) Find ways to just talk about Scripture and the church with them. We recognize that they are not perfect, but we can learn SO much from them. Number 2, church history is FULL of men and women who loved God and lived that out. Look them up...then find some books and biographies and read about them. Let the history of our church be an encouragement to you instead of a painful process or a chore. (By the way, even if you have a Godly example in your life today, you can still go to history for even greater encouragement)
From Paul's perspective....well, none of us are apostles. We have not seen the risen Christ in body. We didn't have an experience on the side of the road where God audibly talked to us (and the people around us heard thunder) and we saw Christ. God chose to have us live in a different time of church history than the time of the apostles. So, what do we do with that? Well, the same thing as looking for modern examples to follow. We recognize that we aren't apostles (stop trying to preach new Scripture....that's heresy! :o) ) and we recognize that we are going to screw up...but we also look to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us so that we can BE that Godly example that the generations coming up behind us need so desperately.
Look at this this way, if there are young people in your life and they might have to say, "I need to look to church history because there is no great example of a Godly man or woman I can look to as an example," then you should be challenged to live your Christian life more openly so that they can see you. Yes, that means they see you fall on your face. I remember growing up and having this misconception that Christians didn't sin at all or at least not much. Why? Because, as humans, we want to show our best side. What's the problem with that? It creates a false illusion that young kids can't see through and then they have a false perception of reality. Show them the real world while you still have time to talk to them about it! It also robs our kids of HONEST mentors. (rant over)
I want to end with two verses from Galatians 1. Verse 10 says if Paul was still trying to please men (showing his better side and not being honest about his flaws??) he wouldn't be a servant of Christ. If we strive to please God, we will be honest and we WILL be the Godly examples that others can follow.
Lastly, (and I've already talked about this one during this project), verse 24 says, "and they glorified God because of me." May that be our testimony. That our life (with its ups and downs, its great moments and its screw ups) can be a life that points other Christians directly to God and causes them to glorify God!
So, two veins of thought. From the perspective of the Philippians and from the perspective of Paul.
From the perspective of the Philippians, we are to following the example of Paul himself. We can, I think, take that a step further and be following the example of other Godly believers too. No, they aren't apostles who have seen the risen Christ, but they are Godly men and women who have devoted themselves to the teachings of the Bible and to living that out day-to-day.
If you don't know anyone like that I would have two suggestions for you. Number 1, find someone. It shouldn't be too hard to look at the people that you know and find someone who is very Godly. Finds ways to spend time in prayer with them (prayer meeting, small group, etc.) Find ways to just talk about Scripture and the church with them. We recognize that they are not perfect, but we can learn SO much from them. Number 2, church history is FULL of men and women who loved God and lived that out. Look them up...then find some books and biographies and read about them. Let the history of our church be an encouragement to you instead of a painful process or a chore. (By the way, even if you have a Godly example in your life today, you can still go to history for even greater encouragement)
From Paul's perspective....well, none of us are apostles. We have not seen the risen Christ in body. We didn't have an experience on the side of the road where God audibly talked to us (and the people around us heard thunder) and we saw Christ. God chose to have us live in a different time of church history than the time of the apostles. So, what do we do with that? Well, the same thing as looking for modern examples to follow. We recognize that we aren't apostles (stop trying to preach new Scripture....that's heresy! :o) ) and we recognize that we are going to screw up...but we also look to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us so that we can BE that Godly example that the generations coming up behind us need so desperately.
Look at this this way, if there are young people in your life and they might have to say, "I need to look to church history because there is no great example of a Godly man or woman I can look to as an example," then you should be challenged to live your Christian life more openly so that they can see you. Yes, that means they see you fall on your face. I remember growing up and having this misconception that Christians didn't sin at all or at least not much. Why? Because, as humans, we want to show our best side. What's the problem with that? It creates a false illusion that young kids can't see through and then they have a false perception of reality. Show them the real world while you still have time to talk to them about it! It also robs our kids of HONEST mentors. (rant over)
I want to end with two verses from Galatians 1. Verse 10 says if Paul was still trying to please men (showing his better side and not being honest about his flaws??) he wouldn't be a servant of Christ. If we strive to please God, we will be honest and we WILL be the Godly examples that others can follow.
Lastly, (and I've already talked about this one during this project), verse 24 says, "and they glorified God because of me." May that be our testimony. That our life (with its ups and downs, its great moments and its screw ups) can be a life that points other Christians directly to God and causes them to glorify God!
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