Worthy of the Gospel

I have been immersed in Philippians lately; reading and re-­‐reading this encouraging and challenging book. I am beginning to see that this book not only offers great encouragement and love, but also shows us a real picture of maturing as a Christian.

We are challenged from the start. In verse 27 of Chapter 1 we see; 

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. 

Now I don’t know about you but being told to live in a manner worthy of the gospel seems like a very tall order. As I started to dwell on this verse I did find that in the Greek this phrase is actually one word: politeuomai. And this word means to act or behave as a citizen. So we are to recognize and act and behave as if we are citizens of God’s Kingdom. 

But how do we do that? Matt Chandler describes it so well!

"What does it look like to live life in a manner worthy of the Gospel? It looks like dying with Christ to one's self and being raised in Christ to walk in the newness of life with our brothers and sisters. It means living grace-­‐filled lives that grant patience and mercy and gentleness for the spiritual journeys of others and a respect for the differences and idiosyncrasies we all bring to the Lord's Table. The ground is level at the foot of Christ's cross." 

So to me we must recognize the radical gift of grace, love and mercy provided by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, we must recognize that the only way we can live a life worthy is in Christ granting the same patience, mercy and gentleness that we have been granted and to me that is maturing as a Christian. 

Father, thank you for your wonderful word, thank you for your grace, love and mercy and Father, help us grant patience and mercy and gentleness with love to others! 

Grace and Peace!