Philippians 2:6-8
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
John 14:15
“If you love me, keep my commands.” – Jesus
Devotion
Yesterday, we saw the importance of thinking like Jesus. We saw that in order to reflect Christ’s humility, we had to surrender our minds to Christ. So, what does this mindset of humility look like? In verses six through eight, Paul shows us how Jesus modeled humility in His own life. The key to Jesus’ humility was obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus was willing to be obedient to the Father all the way to His death.
In our culture, obedience is seen as a negative thing. Somehow obedience is equated with unfair treatment by those in authority. In the Bible, Jesus models obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus did not see obedience as a negative thing. Just the opposite is true. Jesus saw obedience as a way of expressing His love toward the Father. Jesus told His disciples that obedience was the evidence of their love for Him.
Nothing has changed! Our obedience to the teachings of Christ is the evidence of our love for Him. When we love Jesus with all of our heart, we are not afraid to surrender our lives to Him. When we love Jesus with all of our heart, we want to reflect His character in the world. When we love Jesus with all of our heart, we willingly humble ourselves and take on the role of a servant. Just as Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many, we also must humble ourselves and be willing to serve others. When we do this, we reflect Christ’s humility and God is honored.
Questions to Ponder
In what ways did Jesus humble Himself? In what ways are you serving others? What are some things that might keep you from being humble? Do you see obedience to God as a negative thing? How does your love for Jesus show?
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.