STAND OUT

 OCTOBER 13, 2022

Philippians 2:12–16

12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world, 16 holding forth the word of life so that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

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… children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.                                                                     Philippians 2:15-16

I like that phrase, “you shine like stars in the universe’. I recall laying on the beach around midnight in Grand Bend with my daughter and looking up, and seeing infinite stars marking the night sky. Generally, only clouds can prevent you from seeing the stars at night there. They stand out.

The Apostle Paul contrasts followers of Jesus with what is around them, what he calls, a warped and crooked generation. The Bible teaches that followers of Jesus have the mindset of Jesus himself. Philippians 2:5 says, ‘Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus’. Paul is saying that the followers of Jesus therefore stand out in the culture around them.

Notice verse 13 and this is important, ‘For it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose’. If followers of Jesus are going to shine like the stars, then it will be because of the light of God reflecting in us, and from us. If it is God who works in us, then that’s a work he continually does. God is still doing it. He fills us with his love so that as we stand out, what really stands out is that God’s love flows from us into the world around us. So, if our shining comes from God, if the light we display is his light, we can and are making a difference. We Stand Out!!

LET US PRAY

Loving God, work in me through your Spirit so that I can reflect your light and shine like stars and STAND OUT in the world around me. Amen.