Born in the Likeness of Men
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Philippians 2:5-13
5. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6. who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13. for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Fear and trembling? Yes, that’s how I respond when I think about God working in me to accomplish “his good pleasure” (my bible translation states, “act according to his good purpose”). Fear in this case is not fear of being harmed or threatened, but rather refers to a healthy respect, awe, reverence. Trembling? You bet! Me, God? You want me to do what? You love me how much? You will love me how long? The realization of God’s certain responses to those questions does make me weak in the knees!
Just think about this for a minute if you don’t see the answers to those questions with the same certainty I claim. God sent himself/his son to earth. He grew inside his mother’s womb, was born -- just like all of us are born. He grew and learned and lived just like we do. And when he became a man, he came into his own, as we do in adulthood. He gave up divinity! He gave up paradise! He walked this earth, confined to human form, feeling pain and grief, love and joy, even lust and desire. He was us. And he became us to prove that he loved us. We can not understand another’s grief, fully and completely, unless we’ve experienced a similar grief. He could never understand the sheer joy of easy laughter shared among friends around a dinner table unless he had shared a meal with them.
How could our creator, our maker express to us -- with our limited human understanding and capacity to grasp the magnitude of God -- his love for us, unless he showed us that he understands us -- even when we don’t understand him. There was only one way. And to even conceive such a plan is beyond human reckoning! Of course, I can’t convince anyone that what I believe is right. And I fully acknowledge that. But I do trust and believe that through God using me for his good purpose; his good pleasure, I might touch another.
If Jesus, with the power and the certain right, to call upon angels to rescue him from the cross gave up divinity for me, I can certainly get up every morning to spend an hour with God. Since Jesus ate with sinners and outcasts, I can certainly reach out to my friends and neighbors in time of need. Since he healed and cured cripples and the infirm, I can certainly extend a gentle touch, a warm hug, a kind word to another in time of sadness, struggle or pain.
More than that! “Christ Jesus, 6. who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My prayer today is that you empty yourself out to make room for the good purposes God has planned for you. And that you work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Mary
