Wonderful Jesus
On this day, I found myself pondering something regarding Jesus that led me to appreciate Him even more. It says the following concerning Jesus in the Bible in,
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I am invited, as are you, to allow this way of thinking, this mind that Jesus possessed, to be in me.
Jesus dwelt in the glory of heaven with God as God, equal to God because He was God. Now, the idea of His mind is not an invitation for me to think of myself in that way. I am never to think of myself as equal to God or as God. That is the Holy Spirit trying to show me the high position Jesus possessed and making me aware that regardless of what position I might possess here on earth, I must adopt the right attitude towards it when it comes to others. Jesus modeled that very act.
Jesus, who was supreme, enthroned over all, and the word of God that spoke all into existence made Himself of no reputation. How did he do this? He took on the form of a bondservant. He became God’s love slave. A bondservant was a servant who loved and respected their master to the point of never wanting to leave them. As a bondservant, Jesus was not demanding that God serve His purposes, but rather, Jesus was prepared to serve God the Father’s purposes. He volunteered Himself to God for His purposes out of love. This involved becoming a created thing, a man. The very thing that He was involved with creating He became.
But Jesus didn’t stop there. As a man, He humbled Himself yet again, becoming obedient even to the point of death. But not just any death, the cruelest form of death that had yet to be concocted. Jesus surrendered to death on the cross.
Jesus would go as far and as low as the Father desired Him to in order to do His will out of love for the Father. Jesus knew that the only way the Father’s love for us could be rightly expressed and get through to us was to be willing to endure the cross, suffer its shame, and experience death on our behalf. This act of ultimate submission and obedience to God is an example to all the angels of heaven and a testament to us as mankind of what real submission and surrender out of love looks like.
Remember, a third of the angels of heaven had rebelled along with Lucifer. Mankind had rebellion by nature in Adam and independently had proven it by failing to keep the law. Jesus never knew or practiced rebellion against the Father’s will for Him. He perfectly obeyed the Father all the way to the point of death, even death on the cross. At this point, I think allowing your imagination to take you wherever the Holy Spirit would lead you would be a good thing. For me, it makes me mindful of how having this mind in me as a first step would involve a deep yearning to know God’s will for my life so that I, too, could humble myself and not be caught up in a presumed reputation that would make me feel important but rather be more caught up in what my Father desires for me. The beauty of the wisdom of God and the glorious wonder of Jesus never ceases to amaze me. Wonderful Jesus!
