Have you ever stopped to ponder what Jesus Christ gave up for you? Jesus left the splendor and glory of Heaven. He left the very presence of God to come to this sin sick world to die for you and me. I can’t even begin to image the full extent of that sacrifice. In Philippians chapter 2 Paul wrote that Christ “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant”. Paul went on to write that Christ “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”. If the very Son of God was willing to give up all the glory of Heaven to save you and me what should I be willing to do for my God and what should I be willing to do for my fellow man.
I have started with this thought to put in contrast both the great sacrifice and humility of Christ. Christ deserves and could have demanded all those on Earth to give him homage. Christ was and is Lord of all the Earth and yet he chose to come as a servant and seek to save us. Christ sought to do what would save our souls instead of imposing himself on mankind. How many times when I have been wronged do I demand my rights? How many times when I feel like I deserve something do I demand it? When I think about the fact that Christ was humble enough to put aside his rights, to save me, how little of a task is it for me to put others ahead of myself.
Paul used that example contrasting the sacrifice and obedience of Christ to demonstrate how I should be living and thinking as a Christian. Paul told Christians to “have this mind among yourselves”. The example of the mind of Christ that would leave Heaven and die for us on a cross is the same mind that Paul tells us will help us to look to the interest of others above our own, do nothing from selfish ambition, and in humility count others more significant than ourselves. It is that same mind that will cause us to seek for peace and unity in truth with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul went on to exhort the Philippian brethren to do all things without grumbling or disputing that they might shine as lights in the world. If we make the choice to put others interests above our own and seek to put the Word of God at the forefront of our life we will live a different life. The life of a Christian is one that will seek to create peace with men and will seek the good of those around him. Can you imagine what this world would be like if everyone was seeking after the best interest of others?
There are a lot of unhappy people in this world and you may be one of them. The first step in living the full life is to realize that unless you are living a life that is seeking to put the will of God first you are missing out. There is no greater joy than knowing you are following after God’s will. The peace, joy and hope you will have from this are the greatest thing you can experience on this earth. This doesn’t mean life will be easy. It means you can experience the contentment when you know you are attaining love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. You may be persecuted for following the truth. You may be ridiculed for being different. Others may have a hard time comprehending why you are so different from the world – why you don’t return evil for evil. Rejoice – your actions will confuse people because you will not act as one in and of this world.
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