Sunday 22 September, 2019

21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

One of the most powerful aspects of Jesus nature is put on display here in these verses…. humility.

As John the Baptist preaches in the desert, the crowds come, hear his message of repentance and are baptised. And then Jesus arrives.

Jesus did not expect to be excused, to receive special treatment or to be acknowledged for who he really was. He didn’t consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage Phil 2:6. Instead he humbled himself and was baptised in the same way as all the sinners. And the result was to receive honour from God the Father.

So how can we humble ourselves in our daily lives?

In Phil 2: 3-4 NIV, Paul encouraged the Christians in Philippi to be humble…

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vein conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Lord, please help us to humble ourselves as your servants today. Open our eyes to see the people around us and the needs they have. Help us to prioritise others and push back on our natural desire to look after ourselves first. Amen

Written by Jocelyn Petschak