Is God Our Passion? Part VII

¹² But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
¹⁵ Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶ The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷ but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

  
¹⁹ For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

  
²⁷ Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸ and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹ For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, ³⁰ having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. -Philippians 1:12-30

Paul was beaten, stoned, chained, incarcerated, spat on, slapped, falsely accused, and rejected by those he had lived among. He had been a well respected member of Jewish society. He had enjoyed the fruits of his labors and then he met Jesus. He abandoned everything that he had enjoyed to follow the Messiah. In verse 21 of  this passage, Paul simply states his attitude;  “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

The question we have to ask ourselves, “is God my passion?” We can look at our own lives and get a good idea. I heard a man say that he could tell what you cared about most by looking at your checkbook. If we pray, and ask God to show us, He will.

1st John is a good place to read how we can judge ourselves, whether we love God or whether we deceive ourselves. I believe most of us are so consumed with “us,” that we rarely think about where God fits in our lives. We may believe because we sacrifice Sunday that we are worshipping Him. If that is our attitude, I can safely say we have missed the mark. We should gladly gather together to worship our Creator and Savior.

We should gladly share Him with others. We should anxiously seek time in prayer and the reading of His word. We should demonstrate the love for others that He has for us.

Dear friend, I do not speak in judgment, but rather in love. Please spend time talking to God about this. My earnest prayer is that our Lord would be our passion.