Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.”
To “mark”, in this context, is to ‘take particular notice of’ so that we observe a person’s humble and dedicated allegiance to the Lord, His Word, and His Church. We learn by observing those whom we “mark”. God has so designed us that we principally learn by what we see and hear. A good teacher knows that students learn better when you teach them with both a verbal lesson and demonstration lesson. Our All-Wise God has provided both to us; we have the written Word of God and the preached Word of God, and we also have those around us who carefully live the Word of God. We “mark” those who live the Word of God by mentally putting a bold highlight around them so that we pay more attention to them in their godly behavior than we do the confusion and ungodliness around us. Particular to this context is those who humbly live in obedience to the Lord, openly declaring that their Eternal “righteousness” is not obtained by their own decision or works or personal acquisition; but, by the grace and mercy of our Lord, He has endowed us with His “righteousness”. Those who go “about to establish their own righteousness” (Romans 10:3) proudly seek to stand out in the crowd touting their “own righteousness”, striving for attention and followers. But, the generally quite and humble Children of God, that we are to “mark” as our “ensamples”, are those who worshipfully and lovingly submit “themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3), giving God all the credit and glory, even for their Eternal Salvation and their own righteous state. Let us “mark” these precious Brethren and Sisters and diligently follow them as they follow the Lord and strive to live such a moral and spiritual life that we could ourselves be marked as an “ensample”, giving all the glory to our God!
[Let us not forget that today is Pearl Harbor Day and let us lovingly remember all those brave young souls who died and suffered that Day in the defense of our Country. And, remember what can happen to us if we let our guard down. And, let us pray that our merciful God will keep us safe from those who would similarly destroy us!]