Bible Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5)
Christ, our Lord and Saviour, went before us to show us the path of humility and true love. Christ came from above where He was with the Father in glory. Yet, Christ gave up His glory and emptied Himself to be a servant in the likeness of man. See the polar opposites here. Christ is the Master, but He became the servant. Christ is the Creator, but He took on the likeness of His creation. Christ gave up everything that was of Himself for you and me.
This was not all. Jesus did not incarnate to be a noble human king. He was not born in the king’s palace. He was born in a filthy animal house. He was not honoured or respected. Instead, He was mocked and scorned. Above all, He did not uphold His rights as the Author of Life. Instead, He was obedient to His Father to the point of death and death on a Roman cross — a punishment for the defilest of the defiled. He did this because He loved you and me.
Because of His humility, Christ was exalted as the King of kings forever. He is Lord of all things, and one day everyone will bow down to Him. He is our King and also our example to follow. What then do we learn about humility?
Firstly, we can see how much God loves us despite our unworthiness. Because of that, we do not have the right to justify ourselves better than others. Our position before God is sinful and unworthy. Yet, He forgave us in full in such love. We are in no position to assert any kind of self-righteousness before God or other men. We ought to be humbled in knowing that we are nothing and that God is everything to us.
Secondly, we learn what selflessness and love are. Jesus says in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”. Jesus Himself showed us what this meant in His actions. He emptied everything of Himself for our sake. He did not deserve to, yet He did it out of love. If God has loved us, we ought to learn what it means to love Him and love others. To put others before ourselves and to look to others’ interests means investing everything for the sake of them. How much do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ? How much do we love lost souls out there? How much do we love ourselves?
May God teach us to empty ourselves and follow the path of Christ’s humility.
Lord, please forgive me for my selfishness. I think too much and too highly of myself. Show me who You are and what You have done for me. Humble me, and draw me closer to Yourself. Teach me what it means to love You and to love others. Help me follow in Your path of humility. In Jesus’ name, amen.
