"That you may be blameless and
inoffensive, irreproachable children of God, in the midst of a crooked and
misguided generation, among whom you appear as luminaries in the world,
exhibiting the word of life." "Because even Christ suffered on your
behalf, leaving you a copy, so that you may follow in His footsteps." Phil.
By
having this high aim controlling his own life and ministry, the Apostle Paul
became the helpful example that he is to all true followers of the Lord Jesus.
We remember his expressed purpose in life, and we rejoice in the evidence that
he achieved that objective. Of his call into the service of Christ, he wrote, "It pleased God, who separated me from
my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me." (Gal. 1:15, 16.) Very much of
this revelation of the Son we have in the several Epistles of the Apostle, but
we also have a large supplementary revealing of the same in his daily life, the
best verification that his spoken testimony was true. With the utmost
confidence and in all honesty he could say, "Christ
lives in me." Living
in Christ as he did, there was the exhibition of Christ living in Him, making
him a luminary for his own day and for ours, a worthy example for all to follow.
How wonderful it would be if we could
all affirm as truthfully as he did, "Now,
thanks be to that God, who always leads us forth to triumph with the Anointed
One, and who diffuses by us the
fragrance of the knowledge of Him, in
every place. Because we are a sweet odor of Christ to God; among those
who are being saved" (2 Cor.
Beautifully
rich and desirable is such a
life and ministry. Who that has properly grasped the significance of being
called of God into a life of service for Christ can fail to feel the urge and
impetus of so extraordinary a privilege as that of being in His service; a
fragrance of Christ to God, and "in
every place" diffuse the sweetness of the knowledge of Christ.” How worthwhile is such a life! And this is our
task, our very special task as followers in His steps. To exhibit the
power of His truth and the excellencies of His
character in all places and in all circumstances is our duty as luminaries
within the sphere of our labors and influence. Our commission is to preach
Christ, but above all other obligations, we are
called upon to be reflectors of His life. To the sincere in heart, seeking to be in full
accord with the will of God, that is having Christ formed within through the
day by day putting on of Christ and ultimately to bear the perfect
image of His character,
there can be no other aim so inspiring and purifying. No marvel then that "he that hath this hope in him, purifies
himself even as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). Having this objective ever
in mind, and seeing the beauty of the Lord in ever-increasing loveliness, our
sincere desire will be centered on the one great cherished consummation
prospect, "I shall be satisfied when
I awake with Your likeness."
In
their primary application, our two texts have to do with our manner of conduct
now, living as we are "in the midst
of a crooked and misguided generation." With this primary application
we will concern ourselves just briefly. The brevity by no means indicates this
application is of little importance, for it
is decidedly important. But for the sake of lessons presently in mind, a
few observations on this aspect of their meaning will suffice. In this aspect
the meaning is that as Christians in a world wherein Satan has multitudes
exhibiting his spirit, creating dissentions, fostering hatreds, producing
selfishness, cruelty, and every evil work, we, as followers of Christ, are to
faithfully exhibit by contrast the beauties of His holiness and love by bearing
the fruit and graces of a Christ-like character. Living in the midst of these unholy
environments as we are,
in the world but not of it, we are to triumph over the world, the flesh, and
the evil one, thus glorifying God by letting Him make our life a testimony of
His power to save and sanctify those who are subject to His will. This is, therefore,
a very real part of our present task, and it is in this way that we are to "appear as luminaries in the world,
exhibiting the Word of Life."
We
are therefore to recognize that this witnessing before men is much more than
bearing a message far and wide. It is living the life of Christ before
those to whom we carry His message. Jesus Himself gave two reasons why His
followers should carefully consider how they act before men, in order that they
might be His true witnesses. In His prayer that His disciples might be united
among themselves, He specially asked for this unity, in order "that the world may believe that You have sent Me." Again, in speaking directly to
His disciples, He said, "By this
shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another"
(John
In
the very beginning of God's purpose to have a Church eternally united to His
beloved Son in the great Redemptive Plan, and on through "ages to come," there stands out a preeminent
requirement, namely, that those thus to be favored must be in very deed of identical
character with their Lord and Head. This
being true, no other objective can be so important now, at this late date, as
that of being transformed into that likeness. This is the great issue
before each individual, and inasmuch as this Church. or Body is
built up by the united quota of helpfulness each member may bring, even that
which the weakest member or joint may supply, the aim of all should be, as has
been said of this very time, giving of themselves and helping each other toward
the goal of Christian character likeness to Jesus.
In
urging his ideal conduct on Timothy, we may be sure that Paul meant to have him
study carefully the perfect example of Jesus. Paul well knew that only as Jesus, the Truth
exemplified, is made the supreme example, followed and exhibited in the spirit
and conduct of the teacher, can his message be effective in furthering the
sanctification of those to whom he ministers. "Without Me you can do nothing," Jesus said, and this He
said when giving very special emphasis to the matter of fruitage such as the
Husbandman would have each branch in the Vine bear. Therefore, those who would
serve the Lord and His people in such a way as to bring forth such fruitage as
will glorify God must set themselves to the task of first living Christ's life,
exhibiting His graces of character, and realizing that "actions speak louder than words," thus proving that "they have been with Jesus and learned
of Him." In God's bestowal of gifts for service, none has been over-looked;
all have a part to play. With some it may be mostly just living out the life
of Christ in some quiet way. With others, it may be abilities for expounding
the Word and setting forth its requirements, but with all, the ideal must be to have
Christ's beauties stand out preeminently so that He alone may be seen. The expounder's
aim should not be that of leaving his audience remarking, "What a wonderful preacher he is!" but rather, "What a wonderful Savior we have been
made to see this day!" Thus
with all, the prayer should be, "So
let our daily lives express the beauties of true holiness." Then, whatever
our service may be, we can say with Paul, it is "my earnest expectation and 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'' (Philippians 1:20).
To
follow the leader, as most are disposed to do in life's varied fields of
endeavor, often means drifting with the crowd, choosing the easy way. But to
follow in the footsteps of our Perfect Leader means going against the popular drift, and holding steadfastly to the path
marked out by Him. His walk was very contrary to the general conceptions held
in His own day, and it is equally true today. It is much easier to be occupied
with doctrines about Jesus than to
faithfully conform the conduct to the underlying
principles He taught and exemplified. It has never seemed specially difficult
or unpopular to have an outward semblance of being devout and religious, but it has ever been a great undertaking to
live true to the pattern of Christ's daily life. Special character is not required
to declare, "If the Son therefore
make you free, ye shall be free indeed," but, ah, how difficult it has been for many to uphold and exemplify that glorious
freedom. For these and other reasons, it is necessary to carefully note
the leadership of Jesus, that His steps
may be followed even now.
Most
assuredly, Jesus and His Apostles laid down fundamental and essential features
of truth; pure doctrines of truth, the hearty acceptance of which is not
optional, but obligatory. What must be noted with care is that both Jesus and
the Apostles, in their combined teachings, made prominent one great
outstanding fact, namely, that even words
of truth are as meaningless, as "sounding brass", if the vessel be
not cleansed from all sway of the fleshly mind, and if the love, gentleness,
sympathy and justice of Christ's Spirit be not manifested. It is true, as
one has said, "The power of the Holy
Spirit is not an intellectual power given to prove the abstract truth of Christianity:
it is a power given to let men see and feel the living Christ. There is only
one work which evidences Christianity, that wholly
satisfies anyone ~ a work that defies the most ingenious criticism, and most
skilful logic. It is said to be scarce,
if not indeed very scarce, but we have met with it here and there. It is from five to six feet of humanity living
a Christ-like life.” True, there are
few such “Of all we meet in Life’s great
stream, except one here, one there.” However, it is of such that it may be
said, “Some men live near to God, as my right arm is near to me; and then
they walk about mailed in full proof of faith, and bear a charm that mocks at
fear, and bars the door of doubt.”
(To be continued) J.
J. Blackburn