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Paul in Philippians makes the following points...
(1) keep rejoicing in the Lord - it will safeguard your life
(2) have right relationships - because people can kill your joy
(3) have the "mind of Christ" - so your relationships will be sweet
The mind of Christ is demonstrated by Jesus humbling himself, becoming a man and dying on the cross for the world. This kind of humility will put you in right relationship with others - putting all of your concerns behind others' concerns.
The statement that really hits me today is "Therefore, also, God highly exalted Him." Have you ever wondered why God highly exalted Jesus - above EVERY OTHER NAME?
Think about this...
(1) we are told to lay up treasure in heaven
(2) People are going to last forever - and people are all the only things we can take with us to heaven!
illustrated by... Paul calling the Thessalonians his joy and his crown of exaltation at Jesus' return
(3) The most valuable thing to God are the souls of people. He doesn't want any to perish.
My theory is this - Jesus humbled himself BELOW every other name and INVESTED Himself into every other person, therefore, He laid up the most treasure in heaven! Now He is exalted above all!
One great fear I had as a youth was that of wasting my life. I never wanted to get old and look back on my life with regret that I had not chosen wisely how to spend myself.
One person I know put it this way - "How do you measure success? By how many people you have invested in"
So here is the investment tip - INVEST IN PEOPLE! This is the only investment with true value and worth.
One last picture - remember Peter fishing all night and coming up empty? When Jesus was in charge of the nets, they were filled to overflowing, but Jesus said - "I will make you fishers of men." When Peter was fishing for himself, he was fruitless (or "fishless") but when he was investing in people he was abundantly fruitful!
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