Day 30 – Philippians 1:27a

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

I really like this verse. It’s a rich, beautiful reminder that, just as Jesus was “God with us”, the God the Spirit is God in us!

That’s an amazing thought: God in us. Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) How strange for Jesus to say it’s better for us not to have Him with us! But the reason it’s better for us is astounding: when He left, he sent us the Helper—God’s Holy Spirit—who can do so much more than teach us heal our bodies; the Holy Spirit lives within us and becomes our Spirit! He heals our hearts and grows our minds and empowers us to “conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ!”

Formerly, when we were deceived and we lived in the darkness of unbelief, it was impossible for us to please God. But by the preaching of the word, each of us who believes understood that Jesus came to the Earth from God, died for our sin, and restored us to right relation with God. When we believed that and it became good news—the gospel—to us, we began to understand that we are bought men and women. We were enslaved to sin, condemned to death. But we were bought and set free! But at what cost? At the cost of His life– the Great Man, the True Man whom we love, beaten and bloodied, nailed to a tree, just so that we could become like Him: a giver, a peacemaker, a preacher, and a sword. How, then, shall we live? Our very lives were purchased at the cost of His, so “whatever happens,” we should “conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ!” We should be givers, and peacemakers, preachers and swords. We should forgive those who abuse us and repay evil with good. We should live together in peace, as He lived with us in peace. We should be like Him with everything we have in us and with every ounce of strength we can muster. We should give thanks when we honor Him by being like him, and repent (oh, so deeply) when we don’t.

So, this is my prayer from this verse. If it’s any help or benefit to you, please take it as well:

“Spirit, fill me with your presence and make me clean. My heart is deceitful and wicked and I’m unbearably proud. But you, God—you make all things new! You make me new! Create in me a clean heart, oh God! Help me to love you as much as I wish I could. Help me, Dad, because without you I can’t do anything. Help me to conduct myself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of your Son. Make me like you because I love you, I love you. Amen.”

Sir Robert Burbridge