One Love. One Spirit. One Mind. One Purpose. [pt 2]

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 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, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to —even on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2 is one of the greatest and most studied chapters in the Bible. Volumes of books have been written about verses 5-11 alone. Here the Scripture points to Christ and on'es relationship to Him as foundational for both thinking and behavior. Christ is everything and your relationship to Him has undeniable and essential implications. Here are 4 simple yet vital applications to cultivate our life with Christ, a life of one love, one spirit, one mind, and one purpose.

I will now continue what was started in part 1, starting with "one mind".

[One Mind]
Recognize the necessity of humility. Think about how many times a day you talk about yourself. Are you truly displaying a greater sense of humility everyday in everything? It's a hard thing to do, trust me. As a unified body of Christ, which I referred to in part 1, God has called us to live a different life than those around us. He called us to live a life of humility. His example? Yet again we return to the cross. Interesting isn't it? For God to become man, He to humble himself so low to become man, lower than the worms of the earth I heard someone once say. Because it was Jesus, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to —even on a cross! " Humility as described here, is essentially the bedrock of our spiritual lives. We can't live a God-honoring life without it. It is yet another vital necessity for life with Christ.

[One Purpose]
Recognize that the whole world is watching. Yes, even though you think nobody notices you do this or that, the whole world will be able to tell who you are by your actions and your words. We are called to be a "light in a dark world". Why? Because "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." That is the ultimate goal. What are we doing to allow His light shine through us? This is where the relationship comes in yet again. If we don't have a steadfast connection with Christ, how are we able to receive a good enough signal from Christ to shine through every moment of our lives? As you can see, it's all about the relationship. Not just every now and then, but a continual relationship. A relationship similar to the one with your boyfriend/girlfriend, or your father/mother, or simply your closest friends. 2 Peter 1:3-4 explains that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

Use these truths to help eachother grow closer to Christ. For if there is someone you know who is not very good at keeping steady relationships, I'm probably worse than they are. God has taught me a lot about Him and what he expects of each and everyone of us who are bound by the "unbreakable contract of grace". Praise Him for His love and mercy! He sacrificed Himself for us, so let's live for Him.