Welcome back to our journey through the 40 days of Lent. I'm so glad you're here.
Day 6
Our Bible reading passage for today is Philippians 2: 1 - 11 ...
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Oh, my ... what a challenging passage of Scripture this was for me to read today!! I was really challenged to look at my attitude, and see just how far off of Christ's I am!
But, that's the purpose of working through these Scriptures during these 40 days - to seek Christ and learn to walk more closely with Him. So, I guess it's working (wink).
It's amazing to read this passage and realise that, with unlimited power and divinity at His disposal, Jesus chose to lay down His heavenly advantage for a life in the dust.
In today’s passage, Paul asks the Philippians (and us) to follow Christ’s example by having the same mindset of humility.
Jesus’ humility flowed out of knowing that He was one with the Father. Because He had nothing to prove, and no one to impress, He was able to keep His mind and His heart free of distractions. He could clearly hear each word that God spoke to Him - each instruction, each request for obedience, each shift in direction that drew Him closer to the cross - because His mind wasn't filled with 100 other voices and things pulling at His time and attention. Even when the crowds clamoured for interaction with Him, He responded at a measured pace, making sure that He was in tune with the Father's will, and not making snap decisions or responding out of haste or exhaustion or selfishness.
I believe that the same can be true for us, which is why Paul exhorts his readers to seek to have the same mindset as Christ. When we accept and see ourselves - and every other person we interact with - as bearing the priceless value God placed on us as sons and daughters, we are in a position to love, and serve, and listen well to others.
Even when we are tired, or frustrated, or rushed, we are empowered by the Spirit to have the mindset of Christ, to "do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than ourselves ... to look out not only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others." (Philippians 2: 3 - 4)
During this season of Lent, let's pray that we will learn to listen for the Father's voice better, in light of His great love, undistracted by needing to prove anything, or by our own selfish desires, and to love and serve others in true humility.
