Philippians 2:5-8
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross."
Paul is not writing poetry here. He is writing theology that should bring us to our knees. He is describing the movement of God. The descent. The downward path that the King of the universe chose when He had every right to stay on His throne. Being in very nature God. That is who Jesus was. Not a created being. Not a good teacher. God. Fully. Completely. Eternally. And He did not cling to that status. He let it go.
Made Himself nothing. The Greek word is kenoo. It means to empty. Jesus did not stop being God. But He emptied Himself of the privileges of God. He gave up His glory. He gave up His omnipresence. He gave up His right to be served and He took on the role of a servant. The One who angels worship washed the feet of fishermen. The One who owns everything owned nothing. The One who commands the wind got wet in a boat.
And then He went lower. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death. Not just death. Death on a cross. The cross was not a symbol of love in the first century. It was a symbol of terror. It was the most degrading, painful, public way to execute someone. Reserved for slaves and rebels and the lowest of the low. The God of the universe chose the lowest place. Not because He had to. Because He wanted to. Because love goes down. Love always goes down. It does not climb. It descends.
I think about how much of my life is spent climbing. Climbing the ladder. Climbing toward recognition. Climbing toward security. Climbing toward the place where people will finally see me and value me and respect me. And Jesus is going the other direction. Down. Down from heaven to earth. Down from earth to a manger. Down from a manger to a cross. Down from a cross to a grave. And then, only then, up. But the path to glory went through the dirt.
Paul says to have the same mindset. Not the same ability. The same mindset. The willingness to go down. To serve when I want to be served. To forgive when I want to retaliate. To give when I want to hoard. To kneel when I want to stand. The humility of God is not just a theological fact. It is a pattern for my life. If the God of the universe could empty Himself for me, I can empty myself for someone else.
"He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross."
Today I am choosing the downward path. Not because I am worthless. Because Jesus is worth it. I am choosing to serve the person who cannot repay me. I am choosing to forgive the person who does not deserve it. I am choosing to let go of my rights and my reputation and my need to be right. Because the God I follow went down so I could go up. And if He went that low for me, the least I can do is go a little lower for someone else.
With the twenty-second candle low and the image of a kneeling God etched into my soul, I am learning that the way up is always down. Claire