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Discussion Forum : Devotional Thoughts : Magnifying Christ

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KingJimmy
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Joined: 2003/5/8
Posts: 4419
Charlotte, NC

 Magnifying Christ

…Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:20; KJV)

In 1885, Wilson Bentley successfully photographed a single snowflake under the lens of a microscope. In his lifetime, Bentley would capture over 5,000 such images. During his endeavors, it was discovered that each snowflake was utterly unique, and that no two snowflakes were alike. It’s amazing the things we can learn about an object when it is magnified.

Writing to the church of Philippi while being imprisoned, the apostle Paul was made aware that some individuals with mixed motives were publicly preaching Christ, and at the same time, looking to humiliate and spite him. They were apparently so much more spiritual than the apostle, because they were free, Paul was in chains, and they were apparently not afraid to let the rest of the world know that. No doubt, having your good name dragged through the mud over that which you had devoted your life to, would have been a hard thing to hear.

But, not for Paul. Indeed, Paul was not distressed over the apparent mud-slinging that was going on by these preachers. His name was being destroyed, but this did not bother him in the least. Why? Because all that Paul cared about was the fact that these men with mixed motives were preaching Christ, though it was at his personal expense. You see, Paul wasn’t a man who cared about his own fame or reputation. Rather, he was a man who cared about the fame and reputation of Jesus Christ alone. Paul cared nothing if men saw him, rather, he only cared that men saw Christ. He did not live for his own personal glory, but the glory of Christ alone.

Indeed, it was the desire of his heart that no matter where he was, or what he was going through, whether he lived or whether he died, so long as Christ was magnified, that is all he wanted. If Christ was magnified by his living in freedom, or dying humiliated in prison, then all of life was the same to Paul. For he was determined, “Christ SHALL be magnified in my body.”

Have you that same mindset? Have you determined that Christ “shall” be magnified in your very body? If men were to put you under a microscope, instead of seeing you, would they see Jesus? If they zoomed in closely on your life, as Wilson Bentley did on a snowflake, would Jesus be easily seen and identified? Would they see the unique formation He has wrought in your life? Or would they search in vain to find Christ?

Christ being magnified in your life is not something that happens accidentally or automatically. It only happens when we walk all the days of our lives with the intent and purpose of making Jesus bigger. It must be a resolution in our hearts and minds, just as it was with Paul. “To God be the glory, forever,” must be our motto. And when we embrace this mindset and way of life, then like the apostle Paul, we shall find peace and be content in whatever our situation, no matter how difficult it is. When we hear of others putting us down, we will not be moved, because Christ is being magnified in our humiliation. And in that, instead of finding opportunity for sorrow, we can do as Paul did, and find an opportunity to rejoice.

Likewise, if we find ourselves in some sort of imprisonment, we shall see that imprisonment as Paul did, as an opportunity for the gospel of Jesus Christ to progress. In Philippians 1:12, Paul said: “my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.” (NASB) You may not literally be in prison as Paul was. But we need to look at our lives in the same manner. Are you homeless? Are you without a job? Are you stuck at the same dead-end job year after year? Are you in a bad marriage? Are your finances tight? Whatever your prison is, recognize God as using your imprisonment as an opportunity for the gospel of Jesus Christ to spread, and for Christ to be magnified in you.

For when we recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord, we recognize that He is sovereignly in control of all our circumstances, and that He is leading us and guiding us through life. Our steps are ordered by Him. He is the one not only leading us by the still waters, but He is also the one leading us even through the valley of the shadow of death. Our circumstances and trying situations in life are no accident. They are Divinely ordained by the Lord. And when we embrace our circumstances as such, instead of playing the role of victim, we put on the mind of the apostle Paul, and see things through the eyes of faith, and look at our circumstance as an opportunity for the Lord to be enlarged through us.

Paul could have easily let his circumstance choke the fruitfulness of his apostolic ministry. No longer free to travel and plant churches, Paul could have just withered up, and become unfruitful. He could’ve had a big pitty-party over what he was going through. But what did He do? He continued to spread the faith while in prison. In this instance, while in prison, he wrote three letters to the churches of Philippi, Ephesus, and Colosse, all of which made it into the New Testament. Why? Because He was determined that so long as he had breath, Christ would live through Him, and receive glory.

In closing, let me exhort you, be of the same mindset of the apostle Paul. Determine that no matter where you find yourself in your life, that Christ “shall” be magnified in you. Determine that Jesus Christ shall be your life, so much so that when people put you under a microscope, they see Jesus looking right back at them. May He get bigger and bigger in you. Instead of people seeing your failures and your short-comings, and magnifying those, may they see Christ, and glorify Him.

[url=http://www.iamadisciple.com/articles/magnifying_christ_in_my_body.php]http://www.iamadisciple.com/articles/magnifying_christ_in_my_body.php[/url]


_________________
Jimmy H

 2010/3/14 0:36Profile





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