“Until you find something worth dying for, you’re not really living.”

It’s really difficult to pin down exactly to whom we can thank for this brilliant quote.  Martin Luther or Martin Luther King, Jr?  Recent philosophers or the Greeks?  Probably best to say, we can thank “anonymous”.  But the power of this statement is not diminished by our lack of being able to pin down an original author.

As humans, we each have passions—things driving us to do or be something bigger than just “us”.  This God-given desire to live lives of significance and purpose is a gift of our Creator.  It is also one of the greatest calls for us to live for our Lord Jesus.

The Apostle Paul would agree with this idea.  He writes in Philippians 1:27-30

²⁷ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Philippians 1:27-30

Did you catch what he wrote in verse 28?

To those opposing Christians by those seeking to destroy the Gospel of Jesus, a Christian’s very standing for truth is a proof of the power of God.  When we live for Jesus and hold nothing back, the world takes notice.  Our strength and faith in the face of opposition communicates something to them.

We don’t have to be afraid of the attacks of the enemy because Satan is a defeated foe.  God the Father prophesied his demise at the Fall of Humanity in the Garden (cf. Genesis 3:14-15) and Jesus did it when He walked out the tomb alive!

That’s why Paul can write, “whatever happens”—whatever happens to him, whatever happens to them, or whatever happens to their brothers or sisters in the faith, stand strong!

We don’t stand in our strength; we stand in His! “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world,” we read in 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NIV), “On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 

 

I don’t listen to much country music, but one country song by the band Rascal Flatts always arrests my attention when it plays over my shuffled iTunes playlist: “Stand”

‘Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you’re made of
You might bend, ’til you break
‘Cause it’s all you can take
On your knees, you look up
Decide you’ve had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand.

“Stand”
Words & Music by Blair Daly and Danny Orton
© 2006 Songs of Windswept Pacific, Music of Combustion, Universal Music Corp.
and Danny Orton Songs.
All Rights Reserved.  Used by Permission.

Dear brother or sister in Jesus, STAND today.

You have found something worth dying for.
Better still, He has already died so you and I can live.
Better even still, He has taken back His life from Death itself and defeated our enemy!

Stand in the confidence of Who He is and Who you are to Him.  With the weapons of divine power at your disposal, you will destroy the enemy’s stronghold and bring much glory to Jesus.