Final Application Philippians

Example of Christ…

Do I need to suffer to be able to understand what real joy is? Do I need to go through suffering to understand how Christ is? Suffering is an interesting word to me, and I dont think I always understand the meaning of it. Looking at Jesus life, how He went through suffering for my sin. I dont think I understand what that means. To carry all the sins of the world on your shoulders, that must have been pretty heavy. To walk the steps Jesus did for me, I dont think I ever will be able to understand the sacrifies that was made. I find it hard to say that Im willing to go through suffering for Christ, not because I dont want to, but in reality I dont see where it will be a change for it to happen in the way Jesus did. Suffer on a daily basis to understand more of Christ, I feel that the fact of dying to myself is what makes most sense for me to interpret it is. I find it so hard to lay down my selfish motives and trying to walk everything I do in love. But I think it all comes back to know God, understand more of His character. A girl from the DTS said in her graduation speech “How can you fall in love with someone you dont know?”. The sentence have been printed  in my head ever since. It is why I am here. How can I fall in love with God if I dont know Him? How can I even be willing to do anything for Him if I dont know Him? Reading through 1 Corinthians the understanding of love becomes more clear: “Love is patient, love is kind, love is ont envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” I believe when Im able to live out this love pure and true, thats when I will understand what it means to suffer. It is not about me or what I can get out of it, but its about what I can give to others. Through this love Christ gave His life for me. He fulfilled the whole standars of love. It is overwhelming to me. Jesus was patient for me, not for His own way – but for mine. Bears all things and never ends. How can anyone resist a love like that?

Out of this love Jesus suffered, and it is out of this love Im called to suffer. “love your neighbor”, easy to say hard to do. There is no selfish motives involved at all. But will I ever be able to understand suffering before I understand what love is?

I see my relationship with God as a love relationship. First I fell in love, but now its the time to get to know the One I fell in love with. By going into detaljs of the Bible, to understand Gods character, it is now I truly starts to see everything Jesus did for me at the cross. Gods holiness is starting to be reviled to me, and the more I understand it, the more I feel it humbles me. How can I not be grateful for Jesus suffering for me? How can I not wanting to be like Him, showing my love for Him by dying to my own flesh and letting the Kingdom of heaven be my daily motive for where I will walk? There is still so much of the world in me. It makes me sick! I dont want it! I dont want to hold on to the burden that is making me fall over and over. But if I dont seek the truth in God I will never be able to understand how He took my burden.  This is where I has to be less of me and more of God. This is where I have to come down to my knees and say “God, I dont want to live for myself, I just want You”. All my own steps cant take me anywhere. How did I ever even think that? The more I see of God, the more I realize how small and helpless I am. “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me”, all things! Through Christ. How am I trying to fool? Myself? Im done with that. It is now or never, all or nothing. I am the one who has to make the choice, so how can I resist the truth and hold on to something so helpless as my life, when I know that if I let go Christ will take over?

We are given the perfect example. Thought to us by Gods Son Himself. Who would be a better teacher? Who would set a better example? I dont even know how to put my picture of God down in words. So Holy – the only word that can describe, and honestly, I dont think it can. Reading through the whole old Testament I just see a face that is shaped more and more after every singel book. A God so full of majesty – the whole creations is just a small proof of Who He is. And who am I compare to that? Im nothing. Before I use to think “when I get to heaven I will ask God about this and that”… Now I dont think I would be able to say I word to Him, I think the only thing I can do is stand in awe, understanding all that He has done for me. Not because He had to, but because He loves me so much. It is not loved but love. It is forever standing.

The fact that Im even able to pray and ask God about something amazes me. Who am I compare to Him? Called His children, the word just describing how He brought me up, taking care of me, and carry me when I could not walk. He was the One teaching me how to walk, run and live. Live a life to glorify Him, so He could glorify me.

Jesus is the example of suffering, humility, power and eternal life. All given by grace through faith. No deserved, but still given. The image is given, the command is clear – live to be an example of Gods love. How can the love of God touch the heart and not transform? All I know is that when I start to understand the love, I cant hold it back. I dont want to hold it back. There is nothing worth holding it back – because it is not about me anymore.