Fill past the Full mark
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
Have you ever met a stranger that in less than five minutes you knew they were a believer in Christ? There was something about them that was different, something they could not hide, something they did not want to hide; Christ’s light shown through them for all to see. People are naturally drawn to them to experience what they have to give. People are always blessed by their presence, many may not even understand why. It is a blessing to stay in their presence as a friend and see Christ working through them blessing others. I have prayed for God to sanctify me into that strong of a disciple; for them to know me as a child of His at every encounter.
Paul was encouraging the Philippians to live for Christ in that way. To change their focus from the worldly to the eternal. Philippi was a Roman colony and many of it’s citizens modeled their lives after Caesar, but Paul was reminding them they should model their lives after Christ. If they were spending their resources focused on the requirements as a Roman citizen, they were lowering their standards as a heavenly citizen. Paul may have been speaking to some division in the church; he was encouraging them to stand together; that you stand fast in one spirit. Paul continues to encourage them how to live and remain together as a church in the coming scriptures. A group that shares the same eternal focus, and unity with that focus, shows the strength of God through it. Paul shows this example to those who don’t believe in verse 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. (ESV)
“You may be the only Bible someone ever reads.” That popular phrase carries eternal weight with it. There can be the power of Christ in you every day to all those that you meet. There could also be the destructive power of hypocrisy in your conduct of every day. The path of sanctification is a rough road to travel. Your enemy will give you every reason and detour to take your eyes off the eternal goal. Your motives, actions, reactions, are all relevant to where your focus lies; and how much time your invest in the pursuit of it. You cannot be a person with that light, if you don’t spend time daily seeking that Light in prayer and His Word. John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” To be that person that His light spills out of to bless all those He places in your path, you must first fill yourself with Him to the point you cannot contain.
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