Like a Statue

Read: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.                                             Philippians 4:1

     Where I live in Virginia, I am not far from what is known as Monument Avenue in Richmond. There are six gigantic statues of famous Virginians, such as Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and J.E.B. Stuart. These towering statues have stood their ground since they were placed there in the early 1900s. They have been exposed to adverse weather conditions; they have seen some crazy fads in hair and clothing come and go; and they have watched many generations of people pass before them. The one constant through all these changes is that the statues themselves do not change. They may show a little age in some spots, but they have remained virtually unvarying since the day they were first erected.

     That is the message Paul is trying to get across to the Philippians and to us today. Let the fads come and go; let the music of the world come and go; let the weak Christians come and go; but stand firm in the Lord. Don’t let the things on the outside change what we must be on the inside. God has not called us to a life of ease or relaxation. There will be time for that when we finally reach Heaven. Right now, we have a job to do – stand firm.

     We ought to stand firm for the Word of God. The rest of the world will change the Bible to fit with what they want it to say, but we must hold dear the King James Version of the Bible. We must stand firm in prayer. True intercessors are rapidly fading from Christianity. Most don’t even realize it, but both the unsaved and Christians alike need someone who will stand up and pray on their behalves. We need to stand firm in witnessing. So many friends, relatives, and untold millions we meet day after day are headed for hell, and it is our responsibility to win them to Christ before it is too late. We must stand firm for morality and standards. It is not easy to stand firm for Christ in these areas because most of the world, including Christians, is running swiftly away from them. If we don’t hold the line in these issues, who will? We must stand firm in faith. Faith equals surrender. Most people do not have it because they are not willing to take the cross of Christ because the cross means self-denial – giving up our own desires for the sake of Christ. Lastly, we must stand firm together. We have an army of people who can advance the kingdom of God, but because of quarreling and bickering, we cannot see God bless them.

     Like the statues on Monument Avenue, let’s stand fast for the things of God. Hold the line. Don’t let things go. We only have a small window to make things count for eternity.

Quote of the day: “If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”