THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
"And this is my prayer:...that you may be...filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11, NIV)
Most of us have taken a sports lesson at one time or another in our lives--if not from a teaching professional, then from a knowledgeable friend. And all of us who have taken such a lesson have heard these words, "Now, this may feel a little awkward for a while, but once you get used to it..." Making a change in our game is almost always a bit uncomfortable at first. We're having to replace one habit with another, and the truth is, we're often unwilling to do that. This isn't how we make our living, after all. So we hold on to what little good we have going for us and make do. That may be fine for our sports games, which doesn’t really matter for most of us, but resisting change isn't a very wise way to go about living. In Christ, we need to be moving from unrighteous to righteous or as the Bible would say from Glory to Glory.
Right about there, you perhaps started groaning. "I've worn those WWJD bracelets. I've tried to be like Christ. I just can't do it, man. It's too hard, way too hard." Let me suggest that while most of us know the Why of righteousness--Christ first loved us--and many of us know the Whats of righteousness--see the Sermon on the Mount, for instance--few of us know the How. We don't really know how to stare down what we see in Scripture and say, "You know what? I can apply this to my life. I can be like Christ." Here's what I think we're missing. While we remember that Christ Himself is our commission, we forget that Christ Himself is our strength to carry out that commission. We know that Paul told the Corinthians, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). We've got that part down. What we forget is that Paul told the Galatians, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Actually, we may remember those words to the Galatians quite well. The trouble may be that we've never really made them stick in our brains. And the enemy would be well-pleased if those words never found their way there.
The enemy has spent most of your life convincing you of one of two things: (1) that Christ is way beyond you, never really attainable, or (2) that Christ is walking alongside you. You won't find a hint of either of those ideas in Paul's writings. Paul is adamant: Christ is in us.
Don't ignore that truth. Jesus has a stunning reason for filling you with the fruit of His righteousness--it's how He brings glory to God. I challenge you this week to bring Glory to God by making the adjustments in your life He is asking and showing you.