The thing that strikes me in this chapter is the longing that Paul has to be with Christ. You can feel it in what he writes.
23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
He would rather die and go be with Christ, but knows that the gospel is better served by having him here, so he perserveres.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Whether your promoted or demoted, whether your house burns down or you win the lottery. Paul is saying here that we should live with an attitude worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Good advice!
v27 hit me too and how it continued with ...Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,
ReplyDeleteIf you live the right way, when someone looks at your life there should be some pretty good crumbs of evidence of your faith in Jesus whether you are present or not share your faith. I'm not positive these crumbs exist for me in every area of my life.
My mom said last night, the A/C service guy started talking about being a Christian with her because he could tell right away from her house that she's a believer. good crumbs.