Over the course of the past month, we have joined the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians, seeking to renew our minds and elevate our thoughts in accordance to the One who lives within us.
In Part One, we asked, “Is it True?”
In Part Two, we asked, “Is it Worthy of Your New Nature?”
In Part Three, we asked, “Is it Making Earth More Like Heaven?”
We end today with one final question:
“Is it Unearthing Glory in You and Others?”
In Colossians 1:27, Paul wrote, “Christ in you is the hope of glory.” Many times, I have sought to encourage followers of Jesus by pointing out some unique way I have watched them release God’s Spirit on the earth, only to be met the same well-meaning (but misguided) reply: “It was ALL the Lord.”
That sounds so holy. There’s just one problem. It isn’t what the Lord desires. God did not create us to be impersonal passive conduits. As a loving Father, he delights to raise up multi-faceted sons and daughters who co-rule with him in a diversity of expressions that help the world encounter every shade of Jesus. That’s what it means to be the “Body of Christ.” And, just as I relish in the uniqueness of each my kids, there is a particular way that you move your Father’s heart and that you reflect him upon the earth that doesn’t look like anyone else who has ever lived.
This is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and we’ve got to recover our ability to celebrate this and to elevate it in one another. Seeing one another as who we are in Christ demolishes cookie-cutter comparisons. It evaporates petty jealousies, replacing our insecurities with a true sense of gratitude for what we each bring to one another.
There is a particular glory you carry; things that you see in the Kingdom of God with great clarity where the rest of us are a little fuzzy. There is a distinct anointing that you walk in to bring heaven to earth, and the rest of us need you receive it with gratitude, or else we will never walk fully equipped as a Body. “The eye cannot say to the hand, I don’t need you.”
Here’s the issue. It is always most difficult to see glory in ourselves. I think there are a few reasons for that. First of all, we live with us. We see our worst moments and feel deeply our greatest fears, so we are not prone to be impressed by ourselves the way we are by those we encounter through their highlight reels. Second, and this is important, the things that most brightly radiate within the God-breathed, Spirit-knit masterpiece called you are so normal to you that you don’t recognize it as a superpower. You think everybody sees what you see.
Lastly, we fail to see glory in ourselves because we have an enemy who is terrified of what will happen when intimacy, our inheritance, and our unique identity in Christ meet, so he is hard at work to bury it under some form of abuse or neglect.
This is true for you, your spouse, your kids, your neighbor, your co-worker, and that person that really gets under your skin. We HAVE to let God mature us in our thoughts so that we regard no one from a worldly point of view any longer, but call each other up to the glory God created for us to receive and release in him. In Philippians 4:8, Paul offers two ways we can do just that:
“Is it Excellent?”
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is…excellent…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Excellent: “Good, moral, virtuous; that which leads one to be a man or woman of honor.”
Maybe like me, you’ve lamented some of the things that have come about under the name of “Christian Art” that has felt like contrived proselytizing which majors on “Christian,” while being woefully lazy on the “art” part.
Truth be told, there really isn’t any such thing as “Christian Art.” Just like “Beauty” and “Justice,” “Art” belongs fully to the Lord. It’s all his, meaning that, in the end, we can only speak of good art or bad art; art that is a worthy representation of God’s heart or some severely diluted or distorted misrepresentation of the Master Artist.
God is our Creator and he made each of us wildly creative. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are his “masterpiece.” In Greek, that word is “poiēma,” where we get our word, “poem.” You are God’s poem! You are his artwork, created to produce good and worthy art.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to vulnerably and courageously access the creative glory he has placed within us, which results in redeeming works of co-creation on the earth. This starts with thinking thoughts about God, ourselves, and others that are “excellent.” How do you know if you are? It’s easy.
Excellent thoughts are those which lead us to excel in being who God made us to be.
Do your silent thoughts about yourself ignite your courage to step out with what you bring to the table…or do they critique and condemn you, making you want to hide? If others could hear what you think about them, would it inspire them to believe more in the distinct beauty their voice brings to the world as they walk with Jesus? What could change if we’d think excellent thoughts?
“Is it Praiseworthy?”
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is…excellent or praiseworthy…think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Praiseworthy: “Leading you to praise; Building others up in encouragement.”
Paul seems to intentionally link “excellent” and “praiseworthy” as two complementary aspects of the same idea. You can’t truly have one without the other. We are to “excel” in a way that leads us and others to explode in “praise” to God.
Excellence without praise is a poisonous parading of one’s ego.
Praising God without excellence results in a passivity, unoriginality, and shame that never lifts your eyes to take your place in the restorative work of the Kingdom.
We have to have both. They are listed together, because one should always lead right to the other.
We were created to be creative and to join God in the work of restoring creation back to his original intent. You have a wonderfully unique perspective and voice that the Father desires to unearth from wherever it has been hiding. In the same way, every person you will encounter today bears the fingerprints of God and they carry a precious and distinct reflection of his heart, even if they don’t know it yet.
As Christ followers, we are ambassadors who refuse to see anyone any longer through worldly eyes, but who compel the world to be reconciled to their Creator and to discover and dance in the wonder of his love in a way only they can.
In a world full of accusation, competition, and division, we are called to sing a different song and to pen a different poem. We are restorers of glory. It all starts with thinking excellent thoughts that are worthy of praise.
Questions for Reflection:
What is “Christ in YOU, the hope of glory?” What unique perspective, voice, and gifts has the Father knit within you? Thank him for it and ask for the courage to embrace it more deeply today.
Ask God to put someone else on your heart right now. What glory do you see in them? Take a minute to reach out and tell them.
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