27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter. (Philippians 1:27-30 – The Message)
What is your intention of having good conduct? What motivates you to do what is good according to God’s expectation? To meet the expectations of others? To satisfy your desire of self-righteousness? The only reason for us to do good deeds should be Christ alone. As a Christian community, we should all aim to be more Christ-like together, so people can see Jesus in us. We should be united and having this single vision. It is true that each single individual needs to work hard to achieve the goal and individual’s life testimony is significant. However, everyone in the community has to witness Jesus. We have to do this together. If one fails to do so, we all fail. Imagine you are making scramble egg, using 8 eggs. After you put the last egg in the bowl, you realize that the egg is bad. Would you still continue with your cooking? No! Even it is just one egg, out of 8, everything is ruined. It is the same with leading people to God. One bad testimony can lead to many disbelieved souls. To win the spiritual battle for Christ, we all need to do our part. Otherwise, we will be defeated. God intended to save every soul and He is not allowing one single soul to be missed. Why should we?
“Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition.”
