This last Sunday morning we were able to look at John the Baptist’s example of living a life focused on the preeminence of Christ. Here were the ways that John the Baptist maintained his commitment to Christ’s supremacy:
- By acknowledging God’s sovereignty (John 3:27)
- By turning the focus of others to Christ (John 3:28)
- By finding His joy in Christ’s joy (John 3:29)
- By rejecting His own preeminence (John 3:30)
The beauty of Scripture is that it comes at some of the same themes again and again from difference angles. Over a year ago now we looked at Philippians 1:21-24 and saw the example of a Christ-Centered Life from the life of Paul. Here were the marks of a Christ-centered life as evidenced by Paul:
- Christ-centered people have the foundational commitment that Christ is preeminent (Philippians 1:21)
- Christ-centered people view life on this earth in terms of fruitful labor for Christ (Philippians 1:22a)
- Christ-centered people experience the tension between laboring for Christ on this earth and being with Christ in heaven (Philippians 1:22b-23a)
- Christ-centered people have Christ at the top of their value system (Philippians 1:23b)
- Christ-centered people are on a mission of ministering Christ to others (Philippians 1:24)
Philippians 1:21-24 is a great companion passage to John 3:22-30. Both Paul and John the Baptist are very helpful examples for the Christian life. Why? Because they were centered upon Christ. A wonderful exercise would be to take these principles gleaned from both passages and ask God to make them more of a reality in your life and in the life of your family. Christ-centered people are God glorifying people. No matter what we do we are to glorify God; therefore, no matter what we are doing we are to be centered upon Christ. Ask the Spirit of God to grow you in this. God will always answer that request affirmatively, so freely ask and you will freely receive.
