You before me
Devotional, week 15 (Easter Monday)
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:1-11, NIV)
Jesus Christ died for His Church. For the individuals that make up the Church, sure, but more importantly, for the Church as a collective body. We reiterate this often from the pulpits and in prayer meetings, but do we really know what it means to live it out in practice? In our increasingly individualistic and self-centered world, this can be difficult to comprehend. How can we put the needs of others before our own? (Phil 2:3-4). Yet when we are born again of God and Christ begins to live inside us and work through us, our former selfish ways begin to change. Where we didn’t notice the needs of others before, we now begin to feel the pain of compassion, and are moved to act on that compassion, to reach out to those who suffer and dwell in darkness – just like Jesus did – and is continuing to do to this day, through His people.
How easy it is to forget about the needs of others and instead focus on our own agendas and dreams ! We don’t want to seem like weaklings or push-overs in the competition-driven world of business, we want to establish our presence and make our way proudly through the world. That’s what our old, dead nature still cries out for. And that is what the Lord wants to crucify in us: the habits of the old self, the self-centered, selfish and proud remains of an identity which has no place in His Kingdom. The good news is, Jesus Christ went before us and through His obedience to the Father, made it possible for us to follow in His footsteps! He modelled complete obedience, selflessness and submission to the will of the Father as He chose to obey, rather than save his life (“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42). He esteemed the Father’s will higher than his own life and comfort, and “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). As we remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it is good to ask ourselves: can we say the same about the way we love others? Our family? Colleagues? Competitors in business? Co-students?
Let’s pray! Lord, teach us to submit our whole self to You, so that You may move freely through us, and change us to be more like our Savior day by day!
