Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
What would happen if people started doing everything you were doing? How different would the world look? Would it be a good difference or a negative difference.
I am afraid that for too many of us, there would be mixed bag of results. We have some areas of our lives submitted to Jesus, but then we have a few areas that seem to run wild. And those run wild areas would all too soon take over, if everyone were doing them.
If everyone snapped in anger, or drove, or purchased, or worked like you work, how would the world be? Would everyone be driving your status symbol? Would romantic comedies or reality shows be the only thing you could stream? Would books even exist other than gathering dust on a warehouse shelf?
Our text contains a bold challenge the Paul makes to the Jesus-followers in the city of Philippi. He tells them to copy him. Copying can be a great thing, if the one being copied lived a life of service to others. But selfishness would be amplified as it gets copied.
Paul says they are to put their education to work, the education that Paul brought regarding life, both in this world and the next. It isn’t enough to attend another Bible study; we must put it into practice in our lives. I think those of us in the West have too many educational resources but very little obedience. Education that isn’t applied to life is a wasted effort.
But education is more than book learning. We must receive the education. It must penetrate our heart to the point that it changes our behavior. We can’t say global warming is a threat to humankind and then live an energy deficit lifestyle. If it really is a threat, then we must live a zero carbon life. We need to stop breathing!
The message our life sends has to be more than just words. It must be heard and seen, and be consistent through all aspects of our lives. We must walk the walk, and talk the talk. Paul wants his readers to be educated in the Gospel, but also to look at his life and live like he lives.
The Apostle was sold out in the cause of the Cross. Nothing seemed to stand in the way of him presenting the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection to everyone with whom he interacted. I wouldn’t want to be one of those prison guards. If they were resistant to Paul’s message, they would work very hard to be sure their name didn’t show up on the prison duty roster.
Now the result of living a consistent life, a life that lines up with the Gospel, is that God’s peace will permeate our lives. And oh, how we could use some peace in our fractured world. But even more so, oh, how we could use peace in our souls. That was Paul’s goal, that the peace of Christ would be ruling our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And when Jesus rules, peace is the result.
That doesn’t mean that following Jesus will be pain-free. It does mean that we will never be alone, isolated, quarantined. Even if we are separated with masks, Jesus doesn’t care about masks. He is present with those who are obedient. He is even present with those in rebellion.
So live life today as though everyone around you was going to say and do just like you. Live your life thinking about the results of your life. You leave a wake, just like a motor boat on a lake. Are there going to be capsized craft in your wake? Or will your wake place such a gentle influence on all the other craft, that they are pulled along by your wake?
The Arnold Journey 