Philippians 1:20
In the kind of life that you are living right now, how could people see the Lord Jesus Christ in you. Is your life a magnifying glass that would help people see the invisible yet true existent God. The word "magnify" means to cause to seem greater or more important; to extol, to praise. Although Christ is vast, extensive, and immeasurable, in the eyes of the praetorium, the imperial guard of Caesar, Christ was virtually nonexistent. In their eyes, there was not such a person as Jesus Christ. However, Paul magnified Christ; he made Him great before the eyes of others, especially before the eyes of those who guarded him in prison. As a result, some may eventually turned to Christ (4:22), where Paul speaks of the saints of Caesar’s household. Through Paul’s magnification of Christ, even some in Caesar’s household were saved. At the time of Paul’s imprisonment, the Jews were despised by the Romans. The Romans were the conquerors, and the Jews were the conquered ones. Among these conquered ones there was a man named Jesus. Although He is great and most wonderful, in the eyes of the Romans He was nothing. But as Paul was held captive in a Roman prison, he magnified Christ, making Him to appear great in the eyes of his captors. In our daily living we also should magnify Christ, making Him great in the eyes of others. Where you work or go to school people may look down on Christ. Therefore, you need to let others see Christ not in a small way, but in the way of enlargement, of magnification, of praise and exaltation. The Lord Jesus Christ should also be magnified in our homes. Young people, your parents may not believe in Christ, but rather may despise Him. Hence, you are supposed to bear the responsibility to magnify Christ before your parents. The same way with the believing parents, Instead of simply preaching to their children about Christ, they need to magnify Him. We need not simply the life within, but also the living without. Through the proper living of the believers Christ will appear to be great in the eyes of others. Young people, let your parents see Christ’s greatness in you, parents, let your children see Christ's greatness in you, Christians let all people see Christ's greatness in us. In our text, Philippians 1:20, "According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death." Three ways to let people see Christ in us. 1. Live him 2. Labor for him 3. Love him Are you magnifying the Lord in your life? Do people around you notice it? (COPIED)
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