Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 1:27 RSVCE
This call should echo in the mind of every disciple of Jesus. It is a matter of salvation, yes. But it is also important to recognize that it speaks to a deep, often hidden desire of our hearts.
We have been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-4) and clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Baptism, through faith, has changed us. Though we sometimes bury this desire beneath worldly concerns, we long to find ourselves “standing firm in one spirit,” “striving side by side” with our fellow believers for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27-28). We long to be found “pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:10). We “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6).
We want to have the mind of Christ, overflowing with self-sacrificial love, meekness, and humility of heart (see Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew 11:29). We want to “do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than” ourselves. We want to “look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). We want to stand firm in the face of persecution and difficulty (Philippians 1:28-30).
Christian disciples want to be holy. We have only to strive—to do the things we know we must do and, deep down, truly desire to do. To stand before God daily in prayer, waiting on Him and facing our inner emptiness without fear. To live in the love of Christ, attentive and vulnerable to His gaze, without fear. To face the difficulties of living the gospel, remaining faithful in the midst of pain, without fear.
Christian evangelists have an additional motivation to strive in this way. We know that true and effective evangelization is not primarily about methods. It is about being an instrument of the Holy Spirit. If we remain mired in “the flesh with its passions and desires,” resisting the Spirit rather than submitting to Him, how can we become effective instruments of His saving work? Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (see Galatians 5:24), and those who belong to Him possess the Spirit of Christ (see Romans 8:9). How can we be instruments of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of souls if we continually resist Him?
As long as we resist the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves not only failing to evangelize effectively, but even opposing the reign of Christ (see Acts 7:51), no matter how outwardly Christian we may appear to others—or even to ourselves.
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
Evangelists, hear and heed this plea of Saint Paul. Hear and heed the deep desire of your Christian heart.