He
Humbled
Himself
Do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being
born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and
became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.
In giving of ourselves, we manifest in
the essence of the character of Jesus, for it has always been His nature to
think more about others than He thinks of Himself.
Our natural tendency is to consider
our own interests first – to look at everything from the perspective of our own
needs and wants. But with the help of Jesus, we can unlearn that habit. We can
begin to think of the best interests of others – their wants, their concerns,
their needs.
And so we have to ask ourselves: Do we
consider the interest of others more important than our own? Do we get as
excited about what God is doing in and through them as we do about what He is
doing in and through us? Do we long to see others grow in grace and gain
recognition, though it may have been our efforts that made them successful? Do
we find satisfaction in seeing our spiritual children surpass us in the work
they are called to do?
We are most like our Lord when our
thoughts for ourselves are lost in our thoughts for others. There is no greater
love than that.
The more you
love the Lord,
the more you will
love others.
Our Daily
Bread –