Thinking like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11

¹ Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I love this passage. It so clearly says that Jesus is God (not just equal standing with him but one and the same) but also in complete submission to him; that he has all power, but he also put all that power aside to become a person just like me, with all my frailties and insecurities; that he has the highest position possible and took on the lowest position imaginable, even dying the most humiliating horrible death.

I can’t begin to understand how he did it. All I really need to understand is that he did it, and that he did all this because he loves me (and you) so much.

Now comes the hard bit: I need to copy him.

I need to think like him (and if we can all do that we will all be of one mind). I need to love my fellow believers so much I make them more important than me. I need to be the servant rather than the master; the one who encourages and builds up not the one who tears down; the one who is humble, not the one who is proud; the one who gives myself, not the one who takes what I want.

And since Jesus did all that for me before I was a believer, I need to love and give myself for people who aren’t believers yet too. And since Jesus did all this for people who hated him and might never believe in him, I need to love and give myself for people who hate me or him too.

Thank you, Jesus that you did far more for me than I could ever do for you; or than I could ever do for anyone else. Change me to think like you; love like you; give myself like you.

Written by David Cornell