Philippians 2; Romans 12: Adding goodness to our faith is a humble and modest endeavor of servitude. It seems we speak so much of rights and liberties, but very little of responsibility and duty, humility and servitude.
Loving, living, serving like Jesus…
Though Jesus was a public figure, His notoriety had nothing to do with His seeking attention or seeking fame for Himself, an attempt to bring attention to Himself, it seems as though he never did He say “look at me”. But he humbly defered to His Father: His Father’s will, work, and this, for His Father’s glory.
John 4:34 “Jesus explained, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.”
John 5:19-29, 36 “‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.…The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.”
John 10:37-38 “37Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
In fact, what Jesus did was let His work speak for Him, and His words were in sync with that work, and His words were supported by that work - His work giving weight and credibility to His words.
Remembering who we are, taking the privilege of responsibility given to us, and performing our duty as humble servants to God and one another, and (and thus, our good works, born from Jesus’ goodness) being a testimony of His mercy and grace to the lost. And what are these good works? What is this duty and responsibility that speaks of the privilege of being God’s children? Remembering Whose and who we are, Who it is that works in us, we commit ourselves (for Jesus’ sake) to being…
A good citizen of the Kingdom of God
A good alien resident of this place in which we reside and sojourn
A good neighbor to those around us
A good offspring of the ones who bore us, a sibling, a spouse, parent, employer/employee
And most of all, a good friend to those in the Body of Christ.
So that “Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed…” (1Peter 1-3) because have been counted worthy to suffer with Christ Jesus, having been made His siblings:
As Jesus said when notified regarding his mother and sister and brothers Jesus said
Mark 3:33-35 “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. 35Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” and…
John 15:14-17 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
How do we go about such a life? Is it not to be effective and productive in a relationship with Jesus? How do we make ourselves effective in that relationship? Well, after everything Jesus has done, to establish and sustain and keep the relationship, our’s is to “make every effort”, to treat Jesus as he deserves, to see Him for who He is, and to serve Him as He served us. And that is, not to just speak well of Him, or desire to be like Him, but it is too, by…
“...setting apart Christ (alone) on the throne of your heart as Lord, and be prepared to give a reason for hope when you asked, and when we do so, to do so with gentleness and respect“. (1Peter 3:18)
In Jesus, it is my right and liberty to rest in God’s grace, and then take up my cross and follow Jesus, by imitating him, and laying down my life for the sake of my friends, my neighbor, as He has for His.
That is my right, and I have the liberty to do so, and I see it as a privilege, to be given the responsibility, to perform the duties, as one who will “humbly see others as better than myself, and look not only to my interests but also the interests of others.”
To live in a way that when the plane is going down, I put my oxygen mask on first, and then turn to help others with theirs. And when it is time to save a life, I do not run to save my own life, but I give mine for the saving of others - serving others in life and death. Just as Jesus said and did “knowing from where He came, from Whom He came, and to Whom He was going, He took off His cloak and grabbed a towel down, wrapped it around Himself, poured water in a basin, and showed his disciples the extent of his love - the full extent of his love - and washed His disciples’ feet. (even Judas’).
We must ask ourselves: If the righteous will not be righteous, where will righteousness be? If the good will not be good, where will goodness be? It is us, we, who are in Christ, who have been made good, to do good, to reflect his goodness. And if we who know Jesus do not speak of Jesus, with both of our lives’ actions and our words, who will speak of Jesus?
How should we thus love here? Letting our works, the expression of Jesus' goodness in and through us, speak for themselves… and use words, words of life, when I asked…
As alien-residents in this place, that is the temporary dwelling that it is, are we not told by our parents, that when we are at another person’s house, we are to treat it even better than our own? We are to leave it better than we found it? We are to honor and respect those with whom we trod? That what we have been blessed with is not for keeping, but for a blessing - others?
Acts 20:25 “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “
Isiah 35:1-5 “1Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 2Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God. 3With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. 4Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.’”
Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” (Is 40:9; Ro 10:15)
This is our responsibility and duty, our privilege as children of God - instruments of His righteous goodness - who have been given the right and liberty to be His representatives - we are those feet bearing good news, are our feet - effective and productive in their message - as we make Jesus Lord in our hearts, and serving Him by making every effort to add goodness, His imputed goodness, to our grace-given faith.
