stephen R Harrison

(Read Philippians 2:1)

My son loves collecting different trading cards. He knows so many facts about them that he can hold long, in-depth conversations about the cards with adults at the card shop. I’ve seen him spit out details about cards they didn’t know. A couple of weeks ago, he wanted to sell or trade a particular card to the card shop, and we went hoping to make that happen. The shop owner gave him a price for the card, and my son knew it was extremely low. He told the owner it was worth more and showed him on a phone app. The owner said, “That’s only if it has certain markings. Those show it’s the real deal”. My son said, “You mean like these?” The owner laughed and paid up! 

Christians should have specific markings on their lives that show they are “the real deal” or genuine. One of those marks should be Christlike humility. In Philippians 2:1, Paul listed five marks that lead believers to show true unity and humility. He posed them in an “if/then” statement. If believers possessed these five, then they would, in turn, display oneness (v. 2), humility (v. 3), and servanthood (v. 4). The good news is these qualities are not hypotheticals; they are realities! We do possess and should grow in all these as believers in Christ. 

First, Paul mentions encouragement from being united with Christ. Walking in unity as the church brings enormous encouragement to the body of Christ! Oh, how disunity brings discouragement! We must strive toward unity in Christ. Second, Paul says we receive comfort from Christ’s love. How comforting it is to be loved by Jesus! It should cause us to love one another with His love! Third, Paul says we have fellowship in His Spirit. The Spirit of God provides what we need to have true Christian fellowship, void of strife, gossip, faction, and division. Fourth, Paul says we need tenderness. We must have soft hearts willing and available to do whatever is required to love our church family and those not yet in the Lord. Fifth, Paul mentions compassion. Without compassion, we are selfish, fleshly, and callous. These are not the marks of Christ and must not be the marks of His church! May we possess these qualities in increasing measure and display them generously. 

Questions for the Head (Think)

• Rank on a scale of 1 to 10 how much you possess and display these five marks listed above.

Reflection for the Heart (Worship)

• Take some time in prayer and worship and thank God for producing these qualities in the church.  Ask Him to grow you in these.  

Action for the Hands (Do)

• Pick two of these qualities.  Pray about specifically walking these out with two different people/families in your church in the next few days.  Afterward, reflect on how it produced humility, unity, and servanthood.  Answer the question:  how did displaying these qualities grow the church and honor the Lord?