“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 (KJV)
A young college student sent her parents this note:
Dear Mom & Dad,
I guess you heard by now that our dorm burned. Some of us were in the basement smoking pot, and somehow a fire got started. But no one was hurt, and we saved nearly all our belongings. Oh, by the way, I’m getting married soon, because I’m going to have a baby. Bob is a really nice guy, you’ll like him, he’s got a really swell Harley.
Well, the truth is, I’m not really pregnant, and there is no Bob so I’m not going to get married. There never was a fire and I wouldn’t touch pot. But, I did flunk chemistry, and I just thought you should keep it in perspective!
The context for this devotional passage is verse 4: Serve the interests of others not your own interests. What a concept! Serving the interests of others and not you own interests!
In order to achieve this service to others, we must think like he thought. We must clothe ourselves with the attitude he had. We must put our lives in the proper perspective. Let us consider Paul’s description of the Lord’s thinking.
As God, Jesus did not think he was robbing himself of his divinity and divine privilege by letting the world see him as a man. He thought his creation was more important than his majestic position. And by clothing himself as man, Jesus emptied himself of his recognizable divinity. He thought achieving the Father’s will was more important than personal recognition. And, Jesus voluntarily submitted himself to becoming human and being a servant. He thought serving humanity was better than being served by humans. And as a man, Jesus humbled himself in obedience to the Father’s will. He thought dependence upon the Father was absolutely essential. He obeyed to the extent of humbly accepting the death on the cross. He thought the Father knew what was best.
This is how Jesus thought. It was his attitude. Note that it was all voluntary. No one forced this attitude on him. Is it any wonder that God said to him, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”? Is it any wonder that God has highly exalted him above every name and asked him to sit at his right hand?
Dear Father, thank you for our Savior and his example. Realizing that he put our interests above his own, empower us to serve him by putting the interests of others above our own. In Jesus’ name. AMEN
Be encouraged today by the example of Christ,