If any joy!

hello friends!

God has been teaching me so much this year that I thought it's about time that I started a blog so I can share his lessons with you.  First of all, let me explain the name.  I am awful at coming up with creative names for things--my writing professor always wants us to come up with "brilliant" names for our papers and I don't know if mine are ever up to par--so when I clicked Create Blog, it was a somewhat unpleasant surprise when the first thing it asked for was a name. Oh dear.  But then I remembered one of my current favorite passages, which is Philippians 2:1-4: Imitating Christ's Humility.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Wow. That verse packs a lot of punch.  But I was rereading it recently and all of a sudden I realized what Paul meant!  If we get anything out of our relationship with God--encouragement, comfort, joy--it is the least we can do to humble ourselves and do things for others, for the glory of God and the uplifting of other people.  Love others with the love that God has shown me.  Now I know that the phrase "if any joy" is not specifically in that passage, but one of the biggest things I get out of my relationship with God is joy!  God's love for me is unfathomable, and his faithfulness is more than I can understand.  He carries me through every day, good or bad, and gives me joy.

the JOY of the Lord is my strength!

The take-home for this verse is simple, but very hard.  Guys, humility is so hard.  But God asks us to be humble so that he can teach us and work through us!  Sometimes, selfishness seems like the easy way out--and usually it is--but that's not what God wants.  Selfishness benefits no one.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  That's what God is working on in me right now.

ttfn!