InChristAlone
Thursday, December 22, 2005
A Content Life is a Godly Life
Galatians 2:20
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Bits and pieces from my journal:
"The life that I now live in the flesh"--This phrase implies that I have a responsibility. Christ lives in me, but I was created with a free will to choose how to conduct myself. Do I live this life "by the faith of the Son of God"?
I will be the first to admit that I do not always live by faith. I have been guilty of leaning on my own understanding. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that since Christ lives in me, spiritual growth will just happen over time. But I have been taught about the sovereignty of God along with the responsibility of man.
So how is this fixed? I have to get to the heart of the matter. When I am experiencing a lack of motivation to pursue godliness, I realize that my focus has gotten off of the Cross. My eyes have not been fixed on the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I begin to get busy and discontentment creeps in. My "problems" start getting bigger and bigger and the Cross gets smaller and smaller.
This verse in Philippians describes what living a content life looks like:
Philippians 4:11-13
"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Thoughts on these verses:
Notice here that Paul had to learn to live in this state of contentment. He had to learn to submit to the will of God, which was to give thanks in all things (I Thessalonians 5:18). He had to learn that his sufficiency was from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). He had to learn to avoid covetousness in his conduct (Hebrews 13:5) and lean on God's promise that He would never leave or forsake him.
I Timothy 6:6-8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."
Timothy as well as Paul stresses contentment. Look at these three little words in verse 6. "godliness with contentment"--Godliness comes first. We must discipline ourselves to submit and obey God--to be Christlike. Contentment is learned through walking with the Lord. Focusing on the Cross enables us to pursue godliness "with contentment." Timothy says here that a godly life should be a content life, and such a life is of great gain.
Paul states in Philippians 4 that he learned contentment. He was able to learn to be content because he submitted to the will of God and saw all that had been given him by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Here is what I saw:
How was it possible for Paul to have such contentment? Wasn't it because he "lived by the faith of the Son of God"? He had incredible faith. But where did that faith come from? Through Christ who strengthened him. (v. 13) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The power of Christ in Paul enboldened him to be content in every circumstance of life.
Paul's faith had to have grown for him to learn to be so content as he went through each of the circumstances of his life. I believe that his faith grew because his eyes were set on the prize. He was looking at Christ and the Cross, not Paul's insufficiencies or seemingly hopeless circumstances, or even countless responsibilities that had not yet been fulfilled. He had learned submission to the will of God and learned that His greatest treasure was Christ Himself. He alone is the source of all contentment and Paul learned that living a content life meant obeying and submitting to the Source--Jesus Christ.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Bits and pieces from my journal:
"The life that I now live in the flesh"--This phrase implies that I have a responsibility. Christ lives in me, but I was created with a free will to choose how to conduct myself. Do I live this life "by the faith of the Son of God"?
I will be the first to admit that I do not always live by faith. I have been guilty of leaning on my own understanding. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that since Christ lives in me, spiritual growth will just happen over time. But I have been taught about the sovereignty of God along with the responsibility of man.
So how is this fixed? I have to get to the heart of the matter. When I am experiencing a lack of motivation to pursue godliness, I realize that my focus has gotten off of the Cross. My eyes have not been fixed on the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I begin to get busy and discontentment creeps in. My "problems" start getting bigger and bigger and the Cross gets smaller and smaller.
This verse in Philippians describes what living a content life looks like:
Philippians 4:11-13
"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Thoughts on these verses:
Notice here that Paul had to learn to live in this state of contentment. He had to learn to submit to the will of God, which was to give thanks in all things (I Thessalonians 5:18). He had to learn that his sufficiency was from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). He had to learn to avoid covetousness in his conduct (Hebrews 13:5) and lean on God's promise that He would never leave or forsake him.
I Timothy 6:6-8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."
Timothy as well as Paul stresses contentment. Look at these three little words in verse 6. "godliness with contentment"--Godliness comes first. We must discipline ourselves to submit and obey God--to be Christlike. Contentment is learned through walking with the Lord. Focusing on the Cross enables us to pursue godliness "with contentment." Timothy says here that a godly life should be a content life, and such a life is of great gain.
Paul states in Philippians 4 that he learned contentment. He was able to learn to be content because he submitted to the will of God and saw all that had been given him by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Here is what I saw:
How was it possible for Paul to have such contentment? Wasn't it because he "lived by the faith of the Son of God"? He had incredible faith. But where did that faith come from? Through Christ who strengthened him. (v. 13) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The power of Christ in Paul enboldened him to be content in every circumstance of life.
Paul's faith had to have grown for him to learn to be so content as he went through each of the circumstances of his life. I believe that his faith grew because his eyes were set on the prize. He was looking at Christ and the Cross, not Paul's insufficiencies or seemingly hopeless circumstances, or even countless responsibilities that had not yet been fulfilled. He had learned submission to the will of God and learned that His greatest treasure was Christ Himself. He alone is the source of all contentment and Paul learned that living a content life meant obeying and submitting to the Source--Jesus Christ.
posted by Heather Livingston at 10:52 AM
2 Comments:
Hey Heather! A Godly life is one focused on the Cross! Thats awesome!!!! Thanks for sharing that!!!!!
Merry CHRISTmas!
Ashley:)
Heather,
God really allowed you to dig deep into the scripture in order to gain such insight. That is wonderful. Being content is never easy without Christ. In Him we can do anything. It has been a hard lesson for me to learn. Losing possessions, people and even a home was difficult. God made it possible for me to understand that even if my own children were taken from me, I would still have Christ. I would still have God. That is being content. Knowing that no matter what your situation, God is with you and that in and of itself is where our contentment should come from. Thank you for sharing that with you. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.
Love in Christ, Angela
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