As we grow older, I think it's wise and logical to treat our bodies with more intentional care than we may have done in earlier seasons of life. The older we get, the more sensitive we grow to temperature changes, unsafe walking conditions, or activities that run the risk of causing us physical harm. I don't blame anyone who makes wise choices that result in the care of their physical body.
At the same time, I also admire people who aren't afraid to take certain calculated risks that might result in physical discomfort, but have the potential to serve others for their greater good. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
When I was growing up, one of the most important places in the world to me was the Pocono Mountain Bible Conference. It was through their camping ministry that I came to know Jesus, and it was while working on staff there as a teenager that I became serious about my walk with Christ. Their property isn't abnormally large for a ministry of its kind, but there are buildings that require constant care and attention.
In addition to the staff that serves with the summer camping program and the year-round retreats, the camp also has a board of volunteers who help oversee that ministry. Each year, the board elects a president to chair the meetings and provide other forms of oversight and accountability. When I was in high school, they elected a pastor named Bernard Murphy to serve in that role. Bernie took the job seriously, and he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty or risk his safety while working on the property, even though he was an older gentleman that was past the age of traditional retirement.
I can remember multiple examples of acts of service he carried out on that property, but one will forever remain in my mind. During one particular winter, the camp received an abnormal amount of snow. A blizzard blanketed the area with snow that was being measured in feet, not inches, and two buildings on the property, a picnic pavilion and a guest trailer, collapsed under the weight. There were concerns that the weight of the snow was going to damage some of the more critical buildings as well, particularly the dining hall.
This concerned Pastor Murphy, so he devised a plan. With the help of a few other men, he climbed onto the roof of the dining hall, then had them hoist a snowblower onto that roof with him. He then proceeded to use the snowblower to clear the snow off the roof and avert a potential roof collapse. It wasn't a glamorous task, and multiple people tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted on serving in the manner even though he was risking harm to his body.
I think of examples like that when I read a portion of Scripture like Philippians 2:5-11. This passage gives us great details about the humble, sacrificial service of Jesus, and it encourages us to approach life with the same mindset He demonstrated and the same willingness to serve others even when doing so seems beneath our sense of dignity or authority.
The passage begins by encouraging us to, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus," (Phil. 2:5). The way we think impacts the way we live. The way we think impacts the way we treat others. And thankfully, we who know Jesus by faith have been graced with a new way of thinking that resembles Him and the way He thinks.
The actions we take and the words that proceed from our mouths will reveal a lot about what's going on in our minds. I have noticed, and maybe you have too, that many people in this world spend most of their conversations complaining about something. They always have a negative spin on whatever subject they've been dwelling on, and they want you to share it as well. Politics is always "bad." Weather is always "bad." The people they work with are "bad." Their roads are "bad." It's exhausting and uninspiring to listen to, and I'm grateful that Christ has given us new minds that can see beyond the temporary inconveniences of this world because we're looking forward to the world to come.
But the primary application of thinking like Jesus that this passage is trying to exemplify is a willingness to put others before yourself. To humble yourself and serve instead of puffing yourself up and expecting to be served or praised.
If anyone deserved to be served or praised, Jesus certainly did. In fact, in the very next verse it says of Him, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," (Phil 2:6). This passage is trying to help us grasp the fact that by nature, Jesus is divine. Before coming to this earth and being born as a man, Jesus existed for all eternity with the fullness of all the attributes of deity. Jesus is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, and Scripture calls Him the creator and sustainer of the universe.
““Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” ”
Yet Jesus didn't selfishly hold onto the privileges of His equality with God the Father. That's what it means when it says He didn't grasp His equality with God. He didn't hold onto it in an uncaring way or in a manner that lacked compassion. On the contrary, He "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." (Phil. 2:7). The very God who made and upholds creation took the form of a servant and was born a man in order that He could serve all humanity in a unique and sacrificial way. If you had that kind of status, would you set it aside to serve someone else?
The other day, I was watching a football game. During nationally televised, high-profile games, most broadcast networks usually scan the box seats to highlight any celebrities in attendance. That happened during this game as well, but they also showed something that impressed me much more than celebrity ever could. As they panned to the field during pre-game warm-ups, they showed a young boy who was probably about eight years old cheering on one of his favorite players. That player paused his workout, came to the sidelines, reached up to the child, and lowered him down onto the field. Then he tossed a football with him and gave that child an experience he will talk about for the rest of his life.
That action certainly doesn't fully compare with the depths of Christ's willingness to humble Himself to serve us, but it reminds me of the attitude of humble service we're called to adopt in response to the actions Jesus took on our behalf. It was a beautiful thing to see.
We know from reading God's Word, that Jesus was willing to go to the greatest lengths to serve us and provide the way for us to experience union with Him and a permanent place in His eternal kingdom. How far was He willing to go? Scripture tells us that, "being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:8). The first generation of believers who would have read this passage would have certainly understood why the passage said "even death on a cross." That was the most humiliating, shameful, and painful form of death that had been devised by the human mind, yet Jesus was willing to demonstrate that level of humility and obedience to the perfect will of the Father. He endured it all as an act of service for the benefit of those He will unite to Himself.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "there's a cross before a crown?" That phrase is often used to describe the hard things we endure before receiving the positive outcomes we seek. It's a phrase that's inspired by the earthly pain Jesus was willing to experience in view of the glorious benefits that would come from it. Scripture tells us, "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil 2:9-11)
Jesus was born a man, became a servant, was murdered on a cross, and is now highly exalted. His name is above every name. All knees will bow before His authority. Every tongue will one day confess that Jesus is Lord, and God the Father will be glorified in this response.
This is an amazing process to witness taking place, and it carries eternal implications for every person who has ever lived. We will all eventually bow the knee in respect to Jesus and His authority. Some will do so dreading the fact that they rejected the opportunity to do so during the course of their earthly life, but we have the privilege of worshipping Jesus and acknowledging His role as our Sovereign Lord right now. Jesus, our Savior who was willing to humble Himself in order to lift us up deserves our loyalty, praise, and worship.
If we're truly thankful for what Jesus did on our behalf, and we're likewise thankful to know that He is our God, we can demonstrate our thankfulness by honoring His role as our Lord in multiple ways.
We can honor Jesus as Lord of our hopes and dreams. Each of us has a vision for our future that either aligns or conflicts with Christ's desires for us. If our hopes and dreams are entirely focused on gaining the best things of this world or gaining glory for ourselves, that's a mistake. But if Christ is Lord of our hopes, His desires will shape our dreams.
We can honor Jesus as Lord of our thought life. Our minds can go in all kinds of directions, and the diet we feed our minds will eventually show up in our lives. If we feed our minds with the lusts of the flesh and the boastfulness of what we have or want, our lives will reflect that. But if our minds are submitted over to the lordship of Jesus, we will see the things of this world with a redeemed perspective.
We can honor Jesus as Lord of our home. Honoring Him in this manner will transform the way we treat our spouses and children. My ultimate goal is to interact with my wife and children in such a way as to give them a glimpse of the work Jesus is doing within me. This also provides an ideal opportunity to practice humble service like Jesus demonstrated during the course of His earthly ministry.
We can honor Jesus as Lord of our blessings. We're all blessed with a certain amount of time, talent, and treasure. We can look at these blessings as something to selfishly hold onto or we can treat these blessings the way Jesus treated the benefits of His divine nature. He didn't grasp the benefits of divinity in a selfish way. He used what He had to benefit us and bring glory to God the Father. If Jesus is Lord of our blessings, we'll treat our time, talent, and treasures the way He treated His.
We can honor Jesus as Lord of our actions and ambitions. Our lives are moving in a very specific direction. Our ambitions and our actions function hand-in-hand. If Jesus is Lord of both, our lives will move in the direction of honoring His name and demonstrating that we prioritize His will above our own.
It's a blessing that Jesus took on flesh in His incarnation. He came to this earth to humbly serve us even though we weren't seeking Him out and even though we treated Him with hostility. But now that our eyes have been opened to the truth of who He is and what He was ultimately seeking to accomplish, we have the opportunity to honor Him as Lord.
© John Stange, 2022
