Passing It On

Philippians 1:27 (NKJV)
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,

Our pastor’s message a couple of weeks ago included this verse pointing out a balance.  Our conduct should be in equal proportion with the value of the gospel that brought us to Christ.  What a great thought.  Our behavior should show our gratitude for the gospel which saved us  But it should also be in equal portion as the gospel itself.  Later in Galatians (5:22-23), we see the fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  These should all be displayed in our lives for the world to see with the same power as the saving power of the gospel.

Another point, though, struck me.  Paul is speaking to those whom he led to the Lord and how their actions reflect that.  What if those who brought us to Christ were to look at our lives and conduct?  Would they be pleased to see how far we’ve come in the years since we first were introduced to Him?  Do the people around us see the gratitude in our behavior.

A lot of years ago, I led a person to Christ unsuspectingly.  We’ll call him Mike.  I was sharing with his wife who was studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses.  The Holy Spirit used me to lead her through the corruption and error of the Watchtower Organization and back to the truth of the gospel.  Mike was in the room listening. He later told me that he had accepted Christ through what I was showing his wife.  Mike’s wife came out of the Watchtower and rededicated her live to our Lord.  A year or two later, I read a letter to the editor in the Orange County Register strongly and reasonably defending the faith.  Mike’s name was at the bottom as the writer.

Joy swelled inside me at the evidence that Mike was still walking with the Lord and, in fact, stood strongly for the gospel.  I think Paul was displaying that same joy here in Galatians as he had heard about the conduct of the people he had brought to the Lord in Galatia.

I hope those who have helped me grow are joyful over what they see in what Christ is doing in my life.  There have been so many pastors, friends, teachers, and students who have powerfully affected the relationship I have with Him.  And I am extremely grateful for all that they have done.  I also hope our lives, yours and mine, are honoring to the God who controls them, fills them, and directs them.

Psalm 147:11 (ESV)
¹¹  but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.