DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
There are characteristics of the body of Christ that set us apart. The way we speak, how we conduct yourself and what we get involved in all showcase (or not) whether or not we have the spiritual nature/desire of doing God’s will in our lives. An aspect that is talked about but definitely overlooked in our Christian walk is our motives. This is a crucial thing to consider because it could suggest if you have Christ in your life at all.
When our motives are centered in Christ they are pure. They are looking to encourage, inspire, help, and see the fruits of the Spirit invoked in someone else’s life. It’s a “pay it forward” type of mentality. God gave us Christ; Christ gave us salvation, wisdom and knowledge through the word, the Holy Spirit and promises. As freely as these (and other things) have been given to us, we should be willing to do the same unto others. We aren’t special and we have to remember that. It is our God-given duty to give to others what has been given to us. We can’t harbor the good news of the gospel or give up on people because they don’t think the way we do. We can’t get big headed and think we’re better than anyone because we found Christ – for honestly we’re all just an unbelieving heart away from not knowing Christ at all, that I remind you we all have or had! When we consider the gifts that God has given us it should be in our best interest to be thinking of who else we can give these gift to! Why? Because that is the heart of God to see all men come to believe in his son. It’s in the interest of others that we make his truth known to others because we want them to avoid the punishment that is to come for their continued disobedience.
In the church, we take stock of the areas in which we can be of service to God’s people for we know that if we have a servant’s heart and aren’t looking for praise or anything in return, God will reward our works in heaven! We should be selfless beings for one another as we work together to spur one another on to victory in Christ. If we see our brother or sister struggle, our heart (in action) should go out to them. We have to remember that as a part of Christ body we are members of the one body. We cannot let things in our personal life distract us away from taking care of those apart of our spiritual lives. We can’t be concerned just about our own well-being or our family’s but we should look to keep each other lifted up so that no one falls to the wayside. Our consideration of others is in direction relation to displaying God’s heart for his people. Are you a chip off the old block?
Today, we look at what our motives are in the church and outside of it. Are you the refreshing spirit that others look to or are the one people stay away from because you always take? God is light and He shines in everything that He is a part of. Can people see the Christ in you shining through or do they see what their normally used to out of “church people”? Don’t be one of those who dim God’s light because of your twisted motives. Exhibit the heart of God as exampled by His Son Jesus Christ. Imagine if Christ only thought about himself while he knew he had the power of salvation within him, where would that put you & me? Let us be exactly how Christ was in everything; putting others needs above his feelings, humbling himself before the creatures he created and loving us more than we could ever know – just so we could have a relationship with the Father again! Do you want people to have a relationship with God inside and outside of the church? Let’s act like it. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!!