Magnifying Christ

“So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.” (Philippians 1:20)

When we look through a pair of seven power binoculars, we see things seven times larger than they really are. Turn those same binoculars around and look through the wrong end and objects appear seven times smaller.

Paul says here that he wants to “magnify Christ” in his body. He is not saying that he can make Christ larger, rather his desire is to make Christ more visible and more easily seen in him by others. So whether it is by the way he lives the Christian life or by the way he dies as a Christian, he wants Christ to be seen by those who are watching his life.

We cannot improve on Christ, but we can let others see Jesus in us so they won’t have to guess if we are one of His. By loving God and loving others, Christ can be readily seen. If we profess to be Christian but curse, tell dirty jokes, drink strong drink, seldom attend church, have hatred and malice, are unfaithful to our spouse, we have “the binoculars turned around the wrong way,” and we are diminishing rather than magnifying Christ. The old song says, “Let others see Jesus in you.”