Lately, life has thrown several curveballs. To tell the truth, there are things happening right now that are harmful to my physical health, my mental and emotional health, and the health of my relationships including with my spouse. I am advocating for myself and utilizing all the channels I have at my disposal right now and people are trying to “right the ship”. But like many things in life change takes time. I am grateful for those that are helping me and advocating for me and this situation. This situation is absolutely not just about me. I’m just the “lucky one” getting to take the brunt of the effects.

When life is a struggle, I find myself diving more deeply into the Word. I don’t know of any other place to find peace other than to seek comfort from the Prince of Peace. I am, and will be for all eternity, grateful to my relationship with Jesus. I know that this is where my help comes from. Through the storms, through the sunshine, God is with me. He is with you. And the Bible is a constant source of remembrance not just of who God is but who we are in Christ Jesus.

Today, I found myself in Philippians. Paul has an unusual writing style that I identify with. He is often all over the place and the points he brings up leave the reader asking “How do I do that?” and “How do I get that?”. He often jumps from topic to topic in his letters and eventually gets to a gem that the reader can grab on to. Once you grab that gem, the rest of the text often makes sense. The gem I am referring to today is found in Chapter 3 verse 17 “Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and watch carefully those who are living in the way, just as you have us as an example”.

I have always been told that imitation is a form of flattery, but I suspect that flattery is not what Paul is after here. You see, Paul, before meeting Jesus, was a Pharisee. He was a keeper of the law. A very devout Jew. He despised the new “way” that was spreading like wildfire around the area. He was even an overseer at the stoning of Stephen. Then, he met Jesus. Through his study and conversations with the leaders of the new “way” Paul learned that Jesus told his disciples to “go and do likewise”. In other words, what Jesus taught his disciples to do during his earthly ministry, how he taught them how to treat people, minister to people, and share the gospel with people is how they should teach others to do likewise. Be imitators of Christ. When Paul is telling the church at Philipi to be imitators of him, he is actually saying be imitators of Christ.

Ok…. so how do I do that? We in the American church have a very…. unique… idea of what it means to be a Christian. But have we really explored being imitators of Christ or are we just imitators of the world? I struggle here. There are certain ways I like to worship. There are songs I like. There are things I deem appropriate and inappropriate. But is that me? or is that Christ? Who is Christ asking me to be?

To circle back to the beginning, this situation my life has led me to is a perfect opportunity to be an imitator of Christ. I could be mad, stomp my feet, declare the illegalities of what is occurring. I could complain of the weight loss, the stress, the horribleness (is that a word?) of the situation. I could lawyer up and see what happens. I could allow the others involved in this situation to feel the full effects of the situation, whether it would help or not. I could go on and on. Or I could ask myself how would Jesus behave here?

Jesus would love the people making the decisions in spite of the decisions that are made. Jesus would love and teach the ones that are affected by the situation through no fault of their own. He would continue to do right by them until the situation is resolved. Jesus would allow himself to take the brunt of the impact so that others could thrive. Jesus would also hold those with decision making authority accountable for the lives of those their decisions touch. He would seek justice, through peace. He would love those around him in spite of the situation. Above all, he would pray and seek God for strength, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self control as the situation unfolds and begins to correct.

Do I like where I find myself right now? No. Can I do more to fix it? Not right now. But I can choose how I react, not just to the situation but to everyone and everything around me. Pray for me. Pray for strength. Pray for guidance. Pray for the words that are needed when the time comes. Pray for my health.

God, grant me your strength. Grant me your peace.

Blessings to you all.