DEVOTIONAL: Be An Example

“Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from [or observe] those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”  -- ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:17-21‬ ‭

This weekend I had a heartfelt conversation with my niece about her recent conduct in school. Her parents expressed that although she wasn't completely out of control, they had learned some recent changes in her conduct & grades, where she had not been doing the good things they had known her to formerly do. I began to correct and warn, yet encourage her about the importance of continuing to doing the right things and the benefits that come from it. With her parents also engaged in the conversation we reminded her that she had a younger sibling who looked up to her for the right example, just as she looked up to us, and if she was no longer a good example, that the sibling would likely also begin to follow her down this bad path. She had begun crying as I was sharing various things with her so I could clearly see she was listening and acknowledging her recent behavior was a disappointment to us, but I let her know we are here telling her this because we love very much. We want her to continue doing good things & not take the destructive path we saw others around us taking when we were her age.

Paul was urging the Philippian church to learn from AND carefully observe those who "walked" or lived in Christlike ways, just as they had Paul and the early Christian leaders for examples. Paul made it clear he wasn't perfect (3:12) but his character combined with the Holy Spirit doing powerful things among them testified that the message of Jesus Christ was the truth. so the conduct Jesus exemplified & commanded should be their standard for every day life going forward. Because the new message of Christianity was being brought to all these regions during Paul and the other leader's missionary trips, there was no "Bible" per se that they could refer to at that point in time, so the examples shown & taught to them while they were in Philippi, and letters he wrote to each city after his departure were to follow up with them and urge them to continue living out the examples done among them. There were some professing Christianity but were not living and treating others by the model laid before them anymore. They were being driven by their own selfish desires and headed down the path of destruction so just as it was important to remind my niece of the good examples we had laid for her, it  was important for the Philippian church to be reminded as well.

Question: Think about your job, school, family, friends, or even strangers --- Can they follow your example? The saying goes, "You may be the only Bible some people ever read", but if they WERE to pick up the Bible and read it, what observations would they see from you? Would your private & open life show you strive to be Christ-like in all  your ways, or will it show you to be an enemy of the cross of Christ? Definitely questions worth pondering....

This brief time in the Word today is definitely a reminder to me of quite a few things, but ultimately people are observing us, whether they are believers or not and whether we notice or not, so we must be mindful. Our lives could either help others see Christ living within us, or hinder others simply by seeing that we don't appear to live up to what we preach or profess to be. For those of us in ministry or workers in the local church, our lives also show current or potential leaders whether or not we can be trusted in areas where they may be looking for help or for new leaders to raise up. 2 Corinthians‬ ‭13:5 (NLT) says “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.”

‭‭‬May we all take this day or week to examine ourselves, and from that examination continue on the right path and make any necessary changes to be a better Christians and better examples of what we should be according to God's Word.

Until next time, God bless you!
-Nikki