Be Radical—Be Like Christ!
In my last two blogs, I’ve asked:
1. Who are your spiritual teammates—your sun-athleo?
2. Who is your Sam—your encouragement partner?
Today we ask:
Who is your model for Christian living?
Christ—Our Model for Christian Living
In Philippians 2:2-5, Paul provides the answer as he helps us to apply the truth that we live worthy of the gospel by living like Christ. He is our model for Christian living. Here’s how Paul says it in Philippians 2:2-5.
“Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of 
selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
Who Do I Live For?
These verses demand a follow-up question.
Who do I live for? For Christ and others of for myself?
Paul’s message and Christ’s model are radical. You’re not going to hear that radical message of humble, other-centered, Christ-like living from the world’s counsel.
For example, Time Magazine recently published its 2012 list of “Ten Ideas That Are Changing Your Life.” Some of the usual suspects appear: “Computers are destroying our brains.” “Humanity is destroying the earth. ” But at least half the entries mask a core idea that’s been causing us problems for thousands of years—oure self-centered desire and demand for self-sufficiency, self-fulfillment, and self-focus. Here are two of its latest disguises.
• Living Alone Is the New Norm: In one of the biggest societal changes ever witnessed, the number of Americans living alone has increased from 4 million in 1950 (9% of households) to 33 million (28% of households) today. But NYU sociologist Erik Klinenberg says this is the ideal life: “Living alone serves a purpose: it helps us pursue modern values—individual freedom, personal control, and self-realization. Living alone allows us to do what we want, when we want, on our own terms. It liberates us from the constraints of our partner’s needs and demands and permits us to focus on ourselves.”
• The Rise of the Nones: The fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. (16%) is the category of people who say they have no religious affiliation. That doesn’t mean “the Nones” don’t want any kind of church; no, they just want to be free from “rigid dogma” and do religion their way.
Taken together these studies frame a picture of a large capital “I.” “I want what I want and I want it now on my terms in my way!”
Those are not Christ’s values or the Christian’s values. Paul highlights in Philippians 2:2-5 the values of:
• Unity: Self-Giving
• Humility: Self-Denying
• Charity: (Agape Love): Self-Sacrificing.
In the Real World: Our First Order of Business
Christ-centered believers understand that although we all naturally want to be encouraged, loved, and comforted; following Jesus means that we adopt His mindset.
Therefore, our first order of business becomes not to be encouraged, but to encourage others because we’ve already been encouraged in Christ.
Our first order of business becomes not to be loved, but to love others because we’re already loved in Christ.
Our first order of business becomes not to be comforted; but to comfort others because we’ve already received comfort in Christ.
Be Radical
See how radical this is?
Instead of insisting that others think like me and that it’s my way or the highway, we choose self-giving unity—being likeminded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do you think that might make a difference in our marital problems and our parent-child relationships?
Do you think that might make a difference in our church conflicts and our school or work disputes? Do you think that might make a difference in our daily relationships with one another?
A Prayer…
“Heavenly Father, you know the relationship struggles that Your children are experiencing. Lord Jesus, Your Word tells us that You were tempted in all points just like us, yet without sin. So we pray that as we face relationship struggles, we will respond like Christ. When we’re tempted to demand that our spouse or our children or our parents think my way or the highway, may we remember Christ who said, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done, Father.’ When we’re tempted in our homes, at work, at school, or at church to demand that others esteem us and think highly of us, help us to remember and follow the example of Christ who in humility sacrificed His life for us. Father, when we’re tempted to look out for our own interests and focus on ourselves, may we like Christ empty ourselves and die to self and live for others. Father, radically change us so that our marriages, our parenting, our homes, our schools, our workplaces, our friendships are radically changed as we live like Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.”
Join the Conversation
Who are you living for—Christ and others or for yourself?
What will it look like for you (and me) to follow Christ’s model of other-centered, Father-glorifying living?
RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth
