Godliness with Contentment in Christ Jesus!

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-7 NIV

All of us have to be content with godliness untill the end of the age, even though temptations may come upon us. The reason for this is that we supposed to enter the kingdom of heaven, where it was our original home (Genesis 1-2) until Satan, the evil enemy arrived (Genesis 3) to separate us from the Garden of Eden. The result of this was that He succeeded (Revelation 12:7-9). This is exactly why Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross as an atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15) to pay our death penalty. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Nonetheless, before Jesus was crucified, He said that it has been our own good that He was crucifying Himself, for God could not pour His Spirit into us until Jesus have ascended back into heaven (John 16:7-15) Thus, we are able to become the righteousness of God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), for the Spirit of God is living within us (John 14:15-27).

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)

Just like what Titus 3:8 have stated—“… so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good,” we ought to abide in the Spirit of God to keep us with good works through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10) and to help us being godly until the end of the age (2 Peter 1:3-11). “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8). To be more specific, those of us who want to follow Jesus until the end of the age truthfully, continuing their godly lives with contentment is one of the requirements that they must have, even though it is hard (Matthew 16:24-27). In fact, before He was crucified, He had also declared, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-13) Apostle Paul knew this very well, especially He was in the imprisonment for Jesus Christ so He confidently declared,

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:10-13)

Therefore, as what Matthew 16:24-26 stated, we must crucify our sinful desires, which are our worldly ones if we are going to live our lives for the eternal kingdom of God (Galatians 5:24-25). This is because the word of God proclaims, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (James 4:4-5) Thus, for this reason, we ought to overcome the world until the end of the age (1 John 5:1-5), just like what Christ did (John 16:33). In fact, the word of God declares, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Matthew 6:33, Philippians 4:19)

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (1 John 2:15-17, Hebrews 11:6)

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:7-14)

As for me, I truly believe following Jesus Christ until the end of the age is hard because of time-managementst hat we must organize for Jesus Christ. In other words, I find often hard to follow Jesus, due to the fact that I am quite slow than other people. Because of this, I try to manage my time; not to do everything at once, but in separate times. Nevertheless, even though it is hard (Matthew 7:13-14), I am going to continue to deny myself, and live for the glory and the kingdom of God (Colossians 3:1-4) and for others (Philippians 2:3-4). In addition to this, I am m not going to never give up with Christian Writing, for I know that it is one of my spiritual gifts, and I think this volunteering work is storing heavenly treasures up (Matthew 6:19-21) even though I often fail in persevering, for I am doing Christian-writing for the glory and the will of God (Matthew 7:21).

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)