We discussed this passage in my "manly group of manliness" today (A group of men I meet with for prayer on study on Wednesdays). We had a great discussion based on these few verses...
v. 27 - This should be the driving force of your life - living in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So often we try to live for other things: success, pride, money, satisfaction, pleasure, honor, etc...but we all know that these things let us down and the pursuit of them actually works to destroy our faith. If the sole focus of our lives is living in a manner worthy of the Gospel, then we will be better workers, husbands, fathers, friends, etc...as a natural result of living to honor God. Imagine what a marriage would be like if the husband and wife did not see themselves as caretakers of a house, or child raisers, or bill payers...but as two people sharing on mind and one spirit and striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel!
v. 28 - Do not fear what the people in the world are going to think of you...all that matters is that you honor God with your life. One of the reasons that people so often react angrily against Christianity is because in living as Christ, we are holding up a mirror to them in which they see the emptiness of their own lives. For some, this makes them want to explore Christianity...for others, it makes them want to reject it outright because they don't like to think about the destruction inherent in their worldly way of living.
v. 29-30 - Paul looks at suffering so differently than we usually do, doesn't he? He says that it has been "granted" to us...given to us, as if speaking of a gift. When we believe in the good news about Jesus, we are proclaiming the Gospel to the world. And when we suffer alongside Christ for our faith...when we suffer in joy and strength...we also proclaim the Gospel to the world. The "gift" of suffering allows Christians to show the world what true, God-given strength looks like. We know that this world is not our home...we know that living in a manner worthy of Christ is what defines our existence...we know that everything will be made right in the end. So we can suffer as Christ suffered and remain steadfast in the faith.
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