This Day in History: 0000-04-15

April 15 – Philippians 2:5-11

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  
Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  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, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Have you taken the time yet this Easter season to ponder the humility of Christ?  I think this is often the most overlooked aspect of the sacrifice that He so willingly made for us.  Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, God Himself was so passionately in love with us, and so completely devoted to His Father that He gave up that position and much of the privilege that came with it.  He did it without hesitation.

Can you imaging what it would be like for God to be confined by the limitations of a human body? (Let alone an infant human body!)  To be bound by time and space?  But He didn’t stop there.  He didn’t just confine Himself to live the life of a human with all the trials and temptations, and aches and pains, and physical, mental, and emotional limitations.  No,  He went so much further than that in his humility because He died a wretched, painful, isolating, criminal’s death in order to give each of us a chance at redemption.

The Alpha and Omega – the God who had no beginning and will have no end chose to both be born, and to die for us. Let that sink in for a minute, because it is huge!

Let’s thank God today for His great sacrifice.  Let’s bask in the light of His love for us.  Let’s lift our hands in praise as we remember those triumphant words He spoke as He closed His eyes in death;

“IT IS FINISHED!”

Praise God, the battle has been won and Jesus Christ has been elevated to the highest position in all creation.  His reward for His humility was the greatest honor that the Father will ever give.

One day every being that has ever been created will bow before Him and confess that HE IS LORD!  Let’s not wait until that day.  Let’s proclaim it today in everything we do.  As we wake in the morning, as we go about our day, and as we close our eyes in sleep let every breath declare, He is Lord!

And let’s not dare to end this examination of the passage above without an acknowledgement of the very first sentence: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

My friends, let’s certainly thank Him for what He has done, but let’s not stop there.  Let’s strive to be like Him.  Let’s humble ourselves today to the obedience of God.  We are His very own children, for sure, but let’s follow the example of Christ and be willing to sacrifice the position and privilege that is ours for the sake of another.  As we put others above ourselves, as we take on the role of a servant, as we walk in humility, our Father in Heaven will surely elevate us to a position that is higher than anything we could have achieved on our own!