Who knows where you stand?
Philippians 1:20–21
"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
My friend Larry carries a long wooden turkey call with him in the woods all the time. He's rarely without it. He's one of the only hunters I know that continually uses a "long box" or what is often known as a "boat paddle" call. He makes these calls himself and they are called "U-boats", made by Shorty's calls.
He uses it often to play it loud to locate turkeys in the area. I live 4-5 hours away from Larry and I tease him that I had my windows open and could hear him calling 230 miles away. Although I tease him, there is no doubt that his "U-boat" call is one of the best things I've ever seen that will make every turkey in ear-shot take note and listen. They all know when Larry is in the area.
In these couple of verses, the apostle Paul shared that his desire was to magnify Christ in his body whether through his life or his death. He wanted to live as Christ desired him to live, and if he had to die for Christ, then so be it. Either way, Paul wanted to live so people could see Christ in his life.
It was a personal thing for Paul, "For me to live." It was obviously personal. He was not talking about others living for Jesus, although he would encourage that. He was talking about himself setting an example or being a model for others to see and follow. God expects each believer to model Christ in this world. There should be a desire in each child of God to want to be like his Savior, Jesus Christ.
If we have to stand for our faith, wouldn't it be a shame if no one knew that our lives stood for God. Consider your life today... Who knows where you stand? Like Larry and his "U-boat" we need to let all know that we stand for Jesus and what He did for us.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
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