The Daily Word

We must all have either passed through, or maybe even still going through, a phase in our lives when we wanted to be like somebody, usually somebody famous. When I was in my early teens, a new television program hit the airwaves. It was the first time such a program had been broadcast, a totally satirical show headed up by David Frost called “That was the week that was”. It had many famous TV personalities in it, all contributing by satirical sketches, songs and even mock reports on the political and news events of the past week. I enjoyed the program so much and the dark humour was brilliant. And I admired David Frost so much that I had my hair cut like his!

That phase has past, and I don’t think I have wanted to be like anybody famous ever since. But as I grew as a Christian, there was a verse in Philippians that I got to know and the truth of which I would very much like to base my character on. “Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus…”. I am taking this part of the verse slightly out of context in that the next verses describe how the Lord Jesus humbled Himself. But if we had any ambition to be like anyone else, that and that alone, should be our ambition, to act and think like Jesus did, to reproduce His character within us.

We used to sing a chorus many years ago, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me!” and every so often we should perhaps stop and look at ourselves and the way we behave and say, “What of the beauty, or the mind, of the Lord Jesus can people see in me?”. And on the basis of what we see, then renew that ambition, before God, that is contained in that verse in Philippians and the words of that chorus.

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church