Philippians II: What, Me Suffer?

Philippians II

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, (Philippians 1:29 ESV)

What, Me Suffer?

I joined the Grand Rapids Rock and Mineral Society when I was around 13 because I expected it to benefit me.  As it turned out, I did not gain much Rock stuff… but I DID end up with many babysitting opportunities.

I accepted a job at a Chemical Manufacturing company because I expected to make some money.  As it turned out, I did for a while, but then the company drove itself into the ground.  But I DID get to move to another part of the country, found and attended a seminary, and started a new direction in life.

How disappointing it might be to hear that Christians can expect to suffer after believing.  Our expectations are that just like a Rock and Mineral Society, or employment, we will receive benefits.

But Paul says that suffering for Christ is granted to us, which means he considers the suffering a blessing.

Paul refers to suffering for the sake of Christ.  This is not suffering because of social cruelty, physical ailments, or broken hearts.  That kind of suffering is not included here.

Instead, following Christ means that we suffer because of Him.  Physical danger for Christians is often a possibility, but those who endure do so for the sake of the advancement of the gospel.  Social suffering can occur when we speak prophetically about the presence of unrighteousness.  Emotional suffering can occur when we experience loss for the gospel, or when we grieve for those who are lost.

And because these things are happening because of our beloved Christ, we can often see that the Kingdom of God benefits.  Evangelism results.  God’s glory is seen. And even spiritual growth (in Christ) occurs.

So yes, we suffer… but Jesus is worth it.

Philippians I: Bucket Lists

Philippians I

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21 ESV)

Bucket Lists

I read recently that over 90% of people’s bucket list items fall into the categories of travel, adventure, and personal growth. 

Paul’s bucket list, described in this verse, is not very modern, is it?

First on Paul’s bucket list is Christ.  Not merely to imitate Christ, not merely to know Christ, not merely to be Christian… but simply Christ.

Christ loved.  Christ served.  Christ lived for His people, completely.  All the way to death, through resurrection, and up to God’s right hand.

Most important for Paul, in Paul’s life… is to love, to serve, to live for God’s people completely.  All the way through Paul’s life until he would die… and through Christ’s gate into heaven… and reigning at Christ’s side.

How different Paul’s bucket list is!

And then, even more surprisingly, as amazing as those life goals are, Paul says that to die is gain.

Death, rather than failure and “the end of it all”, was better than his life, his Christ, his everything.

What a bucket list!

Ephesians V: Smelly

Ephesians V

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2 ESV)

Smelly

A skunk died on the road nearby a little while ago.  It was a particularly smelly skunk.  As I walked through our parking lot later, I found there were two kinds of cars.

Some cars had obviously driven in from the south, and smelled like it.

Other cars had obviously driven in from the north, and smelled like it.

Their fragrance gave them away.

Christ’s fragrance does not refer to His earthly cleanliness or perfume.  Instead, Christ lived, and died, and lived again in a way that pleased the Father.  In scripture, our actions are sometimes described as a fragrant offering that God’s nostrils enjoy.

And when we have walked near, with, or by, Christ, that fragrance clings to us, too.

If we want to please God, walk how Jesus did, and His fragrance clings to us.

If we want to please God, live for others (sacrifice) like Jesus did, and His fragrance clings to us.

If we want to please God, be like Jesus, and His fragrance clings to us.

Ephesians IV: Talking

Ephesians IV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ. (Ephesians 4:15 ESV)

Talking

We talk too much.

Sometimes, we think we need to correct every error we hear, regardless of the effect of our correction.

Sometimes, we think we need to only say nice things, regardless of the effect of our silence.

Sometimes, we think we get to say whatever we want, because we are free, regardless of how thoughtless we often are.

But instead, the test of whether or not to speak, has two steps.

First, if the thing you are saying is not loving do NOT say it.  We can argue about what exactly IS the most loving thing to say, but unless we are using love as the backdrop, we have no business speaking.

Second, if the thing we are saying does not shine a light on Jesus, do NOT say it.  Every conversation a Christian has needs to aim someone (sometimes others, sometimes ourselves) into more understanding of Jesus, more appreciation of Jesus, more affection for Jesus, more devotion for Jesus, more Love of Jesus.

Whether we are telling jokes around the dinner table, teaching Mathematics, giving advice, asking for advice, being casual, being purposeful, discussing current events, or talking about unicorns… talk towards HIM… in love… or stop talking.

Ephesians III: More

Ephesians III

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think… (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)

More

I keep discovering new things about my lawn mower.  This fall, when I winterized it, I found in the gas tank, a line that showed me exactly how much antifreeze to add.  I had been guessing for years.  Now I do not need to guess.

I like to ride with the blower detached sometimes, and sometimes attached.  In the past, I used to get off the mower, and strap the attachment on, or take it off.  But I discovered a knob that connects to the blower.  I do not even have to get out of my seat.

I found a slot that allows me to attach headlights.  So I can mow after dark.  So I don’t have to stop when the sun goes down.  I have not gotten headlights, and probably will not… but I found out that I CAN.  And that feels pretty good.

My lawnmower continues to show me that it is MORE than I thought.

And God is even MORE more than that!

He is able to do FAR more than we think.  FAR more than we ask. FAR more than we need.

If you are bored with God… You do not see Him, yet.  You do not know Him, yet.  You do not worship Him, yet.  But You will. 

Because He keeps showing Himself to us!

Ephesians II: Faith

Ephesians II

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

Faith

How different this verse would read if something else replaced Faith.  It would change the nature, possibility, and fact of salvation and the gospel.

For instance:

… through works… God would still do the saving, but it would depend on our life choices, our morality, our ability to do the right thing.  It could no longer be grace.

… through timing… God will still do the saving, but it would depend on circumstances, historical situations, and being in the right place at the right time.  It could no longer be grace.

… through understanding… God would still do the saving, but it would depend on our intelligence, understanding, or having a good teacher.  It could no longer be grace.

Faith, as a means for God’s grace, refers to our relationship with Him.  When we see how trustworthy He is, and trust Him, that is faith.  When we see how loving He is, and love Him, that is faith.  When we see His awesomeness, and become lovingly in awe of Him, that is faith.

Thank Him that His plan for salvation… faith and grace… naturally fit together. 

In fact, those whom He has bathed in grace, WILL have faith. 

Ephesians II: Faith

Ephesians II

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

Faith

How different this verse would read if something else replaced Faith.  It would change the nature, possibility, and fact of salvation and the gospel.

For instance:

… through works… God would still do the saving, but it would depend on our life choices, our morality, our ability to do the right thing.  It could no longer be grace.

… through timing… God will still do the saving, but it would depend on circumstances, historical situations, and being in the right place at the right time.  It could no longer be grace.

… through understanding… God would still do the saving, but it would depend on our intelligence, understanding, or having a good teacher.  It could no longer be grace.

Faith, as a means for God’s grace, refers to our relationship with Him.  When we see how trustworthy He is, and trust Him, that is faith.  When we see how loving He is, and love Him, that is faith.  When we see His awesomeness, and become lovingly in awe of Him, that is faith.

Thank Him that His plan for salvation… faith and grace… naturally fit together. 

In fact, those whom He has bathed in grace, WILL have faith. 

Ephesians I: Grace

Ephesians I

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

Grace

How different this verse would read if something else replaced Grace.  It would change the nature, possibility, and fact of salvation and the gospel.

For instance:

For by works you have been saved, through faith… our salvation would be up to US… probably the act of faith would be the work that saves us, then.  We would have to do the work of checking  the box of ‘faith’ to be saved. 

For by niceness you have been saved… our salvation would depend on our demeanor and attitude.  Pleasant people would be saved, the rest of us, not.  The road to heaven would be paved by smiles and acts of kindness.  Too many bad days, and we would be doomed.

For by ‘being in the right group’ you have been saved… our membership, whether by birth, social status, or choice of friends would determine our eternal state.  Hopefully, in that universe, changing groups would be easy!

But those words are not the right words.

Grace saves.  Grace means we are saved by God’s character, God’s intentions, God’s equation, God’s relationship, God’s determination.

I am absolutely sure that is the only way we could find salvation.

Death X: The Bottom Line

Death X

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15 ESV)

The Bottom Line

I used to hate (really hate) mowing my lawn… or any lawn for that matter.  I dreaded the chore, suffered through the task, and was even bitter about the need to mow.

But something happened.  I am not sure exactly what.  It might be that owning a zero-turn-radius mower helped make it more fun.  It might be that listening to audio books and music while I mow helped make the time pass more pleasurably.  It might be that I became more mature about gratitude FOR my yard.

But I no longer hate mowing the lawn… at all.

I desire that transformation when it comes to death.

I know that death is no longer the focus of God’s curse, but is actually the entrance get to Heaven.

I know that death has been conquered, and now is under Christ’s authority.  He holds it’s keys, after all! (Revelation 1:18) .

I know that death’s scorpion-like stinger has been pulled, and death’s sting diminished.

But I do not quite, yet, see death with God’s vision.  Try as I might, I do not understand death the same way He does.

God loves the death of His children.  Such death is precious in His sight.  That is the same phrase we sing in, “Jesus loves the little children.”  They, and death, are precious to Him.

For me, death still hurts too much.  Some day, I will shout a hearty, “AMEN!” to God’s view, instead.

For me, death still reeks of loss and decay.  Some day, I will shout a hearty, “AMEN!” to God’s view, instead.

For me, I still see the curse clinging to death.  .  Some day, I will shout a hearty, “AMEN!” to God’s view, instead.

It helps, sometimes, to remember a parallel thought: “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (Psalm 35:27 ESV)

Because of Christ’s work death is included in that welfare.

Death IX: Hoping

Death IX

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:42-44 ESV)

Hoping

I went to bed last night suffering the symptoms of a cold.  As usual, while not devastating, these symptoms were miserable.  I went to bed uncomfortable.  But I also went to be with hope.

Because I took medicine.

And as I breathed with difficulty, had itchy eyes even when closed, and my head was fuzzy, I hoped that I would feel better, or even BE better in the morning.

Hope is always attached to improvement.  Hope arises because something is bad, and we need it to be better.

Unexpectedly, death provides hope.

Whatever is troubling us, for Christians, after death it will be better.  We do not hope in death, but we hope in what Christ has done to death, and what will happen to us through death.

Mistakenly, we often hope instead to avoid death.  But instead, we can hope through death’s work.

We will be better.  And our believing loved ones will, too.

Sin will be gone.  Sin’s effects will be gone.  Worries will be gone.  Pain will be gone, both physical and emotional.  Loneliness will be gone. 

And what makes it better is NOT the absence of our troubles… but the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

He is the best medicine.

Death VIII: Laughing

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. (John 16:23 ESV)

Laughing

Heroes of the old melodramatic theater shorts used to laugh at the face of danger.  An audience at a comic fest laughs at the presentations.  Some people laugh (a fact I do not understand) at America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Who laughs about death, though?

Tragedy does not elicit laughter.  Sorrow does not cause laughter.  Loss does not bring chuckles.

Of course we do not laugh about death.

But the childbearing mother might understand the concept.  The pain of childbirth can be overshadowed (maybe over-lit!) by the joy of the child.  The struggle of childbirth is seen in a different light, perhaps, when mom remembers that this is not just physical pain, but her child!

Awareness of death’s result, the glory of being with Christ!, allows us to laugh… not IN death, not because of death, not around death… but because of the joy that it brings.   Because of heaven.

Consider these words: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 ESV)

Death VII: Grieving

Death VII

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (I Thessalonians 4:13 ESV)

Grieving

Some cultures have admired grieving so much that they would hire professional grievers.  Some Christians grieve today with intense sorrow… and grieving our loss, our unsaid comments, the faltered plans of those who seem to die too early, or just deep pain that continues.

I am in no way belittling such real sorrows.

But… but… but… we do not grieve like the world.  We do not grieve like those without the sure hope of the gospel.  We do not grieve like those who do not believe in a Sovereign God who is working in ALL things for the good of His people, because of His immeasurable love FOR His people.  Even in death.

If heaven is grand, how can we resent the arrival there of saints who have died?  If the Lord’s presence is so desirable, how can we fail to be excited for His people who are enmeshed in Him, now?  If death has been altered to become the gateway into eternal life, how can we become despondent?

Grief is improved by hope.  Grief is altered by hope.  Grief is fixed by hope.

And what an opportunity to preach the gospel, even without using words

Death VI: Death's Death

Death VI

                        Death is swallowed up in victory.

                        O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:54, 57 ESV)

Death’s Death

When Genghis Khan conquered the peoples of the steppes of Asia, his empire lasted after his own death.  He was successful, in part, because he changed the conquered folk into something else.  Enforced by horse and arrow, they lost their identities.  They ‘became’ what he wanted them to be. They were no longer Persians, Afghans, or Chinese.  They became Mongols.  At least for a time.

When Christ conquered the enemy death, He truly conquered it, for all time, for all of His people.  Death has become what the victorious Christ wanted it to be.  Death become our gate into His permanent Kingdom.

Death was swallowed up, devoured, by that victory.  It entered His realm as His tool.

Death no longer had any victories.  While before Christ, death seemed to win every battle, now every Christian death is a victorious event.

Death’s sting has become an ultimate blessing.  Christians leave our sin-tainted and sin-broken bodies behind, and will have new perfect bodies! Our intellects, as well.  Our emotions as well.  our very Souls, in fact, as well.

Death has died… and was reborn as something new!

Death IV: God's Enemy, Death

Death IV

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (I Corinthians 15:26 ESV)

God’s Enemy, Death

Death, the normal end of some things that once had a form of life, was once a part of God’s pronouncement that creation, when finished, was “very good.”

But now He had changed death… for humans, death had become the pinnacle of His wrath.  That which was created without the need for death, people, now would die.

Death had become an enemy of God.

And He promised to end death’s new job.

That promise was fulfilled when He used the Messiah, His beloved Son, Jesus, to defeat death.

But look how much God hated death.  From the hints of a promise in Genesis 3:15, where God promised that Satan would be crushed by a Redeemer, all the way through the moment when Jesus declared on the cross that that, “It is finished!” God worked tirelessly to promise, and enact, a way to un-promote death.

God is just, so He must keep His own law.  And He loves His people with the same fortitude and power that He hated His judgement against Adam’s race (human). 

But His tireless work bore amazing fruit!

God’s enemy, death, would fall to Him just like all His other enemies… sin, the world, and Satan.

Being God’s enemy is a dangerous state to be in.  And death, too, is overcome by God Himself!

Death III

Death III

…till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19 ESV)

Death’s Promotion

Death became horrible when humans were condemned to die.  Before God’s judgment on Adam (and his descendants), death was just a part of creation.  Things, animate things, ended in Eden.  Even if just plants.  As strange as it sounds, Death was included in God’s pronouncement that creation was, ‘very good.’

But after Adam’s rejection of God, God moved humans into the category of death-able.  Adam was no longer outside of the natural cycle… Adam would now die.  His body would end, like plants, animals, and bugs.

What a shock that must have been for Adam.  That event that he would have observed taking place around him, now would be happening to him!  And to Eve! And to all of his descendants…

Death was promoted, in a sense, into the main avenue of God’s judgment against Adam… the main avenue of God’s curse against rebel mankind.

Paul later says it this way:  For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23 ESV)

Wages because it is deserved and earned.  Wages because it is certain. 

Death then became horrible, grievous, terrifying, and terrible.

And Adam, and every human since, justifiably hated it.

It is not natural.  For humans, death is the direct result of Sin, of our rebellion against God, of our rejection (every rejection: big and small) of God.  I won’t call it SUPERnatural… but it is SUBnatural.

God’s wrath, in a way, was focused against mankind and all of creation, through death.  Death was thereafter the sign of God’s separation of humans from God Himself.

There is nothing worse.

Death became the epitome of God’s enemies.  An enemy that God would move heaven and earth to defeat, to fix, to repair, to reconcile, and to redeem.

And that is why we abhor Death.  And it is why God did amazing things to help us.

Death II

Death II

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31 ESV)

Death in Eden

Was death present in the Garden of Eden?  Not human death, no death plans for Adam… but death as an ending of some sort of life?

That kind of death probably was in the garden.

The logical proof is found in God’s statement at the end of His creating work.  When He was done making the universe He said it was not merely good… but VERY good.

I am not all that artistic.  But the few times I have completed some artwork (a song, or a drawing, or even a poem…) when I am done, I am done.  Until I am done, I edit, I finesse, I correct, I try again… but when it is done, when it is beautiful, when it is completed, it is done.

God made everything, and then called it very good… He was done creating at that point.  No more creating.  No more making something out of nothing. 

Consider, then a bug.  Without being all scientific, many bugs eat plant (or animal) matter.  That is their purpose, and it shows in HOW they were made, and how they function.  If no plant (or animal) matter existed, those bugs could not survive.  It does not make sense that God would have created those bugs “figuring that someday they would have something to eat.”  It does not make sense that God would have created those bugs in a way that did not function correctly, because they had nothing to eat.  It does not make sense that God made a bug “very good,” but would fix it up later when it’s food chain changed.

The same can be said of a tiger’s fangs, a giraffe’s long neck, or many bacteria.  The ‘end’ of life is evidenced in creation itself.

There must have been death before the fall.

Note… NOT human death.  But something that was alive (a plant… and animal… bacteria…) would have ended that ‘life.’

Death, before the curse that resulted from Adam’s sin, was not evil.  It was not a curse.  It was not anything to do with the God-breathed life that God put into Adam’s body.

It was simply a part of the cycle.  It was natural.  And it was very good.

When the world defines death as ‘the end,’ the world is correct as far as it goes.  Death for my favorite Cactus Plant IS that plant’s end.  Death for the buzzing fly IS that bug’s end.  Death, even for my precious pet IS that pet’s end.  But that is vastly different from what happens to humans.

Because the death present in the Garden of Eden was not Adam’s death.

That shows us two things… first, death for humans was something later, something worse, something terrible.  And second, the world is wrong in it’s definition of death as ‘the end.’  We are not merely a part of nature.  And our entire life, from conception to our body’s end, is therefore different.

It is better.  It is more than ‘very good.’  It is precious to God uniquely.

Death I

Death I

An Introduction

Death has been on my mind.

Old deaths have come to the forefront of my memories.  Relatives (both distant and near), teachers, friends (both distant and near), celebrities (even the news has been reminding me of death), Biblical stories, and my own advancing years ALL have been clamoring for my attention.

And recently, in our church, it seems that death has been lurking.

And while all of that might seem a dismal set of thoughts, in the end it has not been.  Because I have learned some things about death.

(I WILL be returning to our Biblical Survey after a few days… but it is time for this insertion.)

Death is not actually hanging around our doors.  Death, while lurking, has actually been overcome by Christ.  More than that, really… Death was trounced on Good Friday, the three days in the tomb, and the Resurrection by ALL of the Trinity.  Even Christ’s Ascension helped transform death.

Because death has not simply been beaten.  Death is not merely a toothless old hag who used to have power.  When God defeated THAT enemy, the last enemy, He actually changed it… Death is now a means of our entrance into heaven.  Of course we grieve when death strikes it’s feeble blows. But those very blows for Christians have been changed.  THAT is why we do not grieve like the world grieves.  Because death is no longer tragic.  Death no longer demands sorrow.  Death no longer is a shadowy lurking thing.  Death works for God.  Death is God’s mechanism to give us our new bodies.  Death is now God’s planned entrance Gate for His people into HIS Presence. 

God beat death by transforming it from the epitome of the curse to the last stage of our glorification.

Death is now another way we get to follow Jesus… His path… His way… His example… His gift.

Galatians IV: Reaping

Galatians IV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7 ESV)

Reaping

The old TV show Dragnet ended every episode with a description of what ended up happening to the perpetrators described in the show.  When Dragnet became syndicated, time constraints caused the producers to cut those “just desserts” off the end of the episodes.  But a backlash resulted, with fans writing and complaining.

“Just Desserts” was the most popular part of the show.

But this verse is not intended to cause us to gloat about sinners reaping what they have sown. It is a warning, instead, to not mock God.

Not because He always gets His revenge against liars, blasphemers, murderers, and adulterers. 

People mock God when they do not take seriously His one offer of salvation.  Those who reject God’s Jesus will reap what they sow.  Those who sow disbelief, sow arrogant skepticism, sow denial of God’s grace, sow denial of God’s existence, WILL reap what they have sown.

God will treat those who mock by denial by giving them what they claim to want.

God staying out of their lives, out of their business, out of their ethics, out of their hearts.

And the reaping that results is the eternal absolute absence of God… in other words, hell itself.

But look how much God does NOT want that to happen.  Look at the price He paid so that we do NOT have to reap what we have sown.  In fact, the Messiah, Jesus, reaps what we have sown in His very death (and His life, and His resurrection!)

And therefore, we can reap what JESUS sows!

Galatians III: Relief from Burdens

Galatians III

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1,2 ESV)

Relief from Burdens

The church is not generally known for our kindness to Christians who fall into sin.  While our intentions might be securing the holiness of the body of Christ, we often slip into self-righteous condemnation.  We often slip into judgmentalism.  We often slip into what looks like revenge and punishment.  We often drive away those who are caught in transgression, when the church is exactly what the transgressors need.

Instead, we get to bear those burdens, too.

Jesus did… and we can copy Him.

If we have sinned, we know the pain of guilt, and we know the path to hope.  Show that path.

If we have known the pain of guilt, we know the shame that follows, and we know that Jesus died to take away that shame.  Point to the cross.

If we have known the pain of public sin, we know how difficult restoration seems to be, and we know that Christ lived, and died, and lived to restore us fully. Talk about that.

If we have known the emptiness of no restoration, we know sorrow, and we know the One who dries tears.  Try tears, too.

I am not talking about an easy gospel.  I am talking about the necessity of Jesus, and our job to point our hands and fingers and hearts at Jesus when we see sin and sinners.

He bore our burden… and we get to be like Him.

Galatians II: Progression

Galatians II

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22, 23 ESV)

Progression

When fruit grows, first it is dormant, then a bud develops, then the bud blooms, then the petals drop, then the fruit grows, then it ripens, and then it is a tasty fruit.

This familiar list by Paul is often seen as a set of different fruits… comparing apples, oranges, grapes, pomegranates, and cherries, perhaps. 

But lately I have been wondering if this list is a progression of development in the life of Christians.  A movement from immaturity to maturity.  In that light, perhaps we can see that a new Christians leans what love is.  This causes joy.  That joy leads to peace.  That peace helps us endure patiently.  That patience makes us kind to others who are struggling as we have struggled.  That kindness allows us to choose to act in a good way.  That goodness keeps us working for our King, faithfully.  Which can lead to gentleness, like Christ’s.  Which finally leads us to self-control.

Keep progressing!