Let This Mind be In You

I guess I ought to be writing about what's going on in my life, but this homework assignment will say it better than a normal blog could. God has been constantly weighing this on my mind this semester.

Let This Mind Be In You

If I were to quote this title in front of a church or at my Bible school, I’d probably hear some faint whispers of people rattling off the rest of this passage (in Philippians 2 by the way). How many of those same people do you believe are actually applying this truth to their own lives? I’d say very few of them, knowing that I myself struggle very much to. Still Christ’s words ring in our minds, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

May Christ be glorified in my life, that I would seek to follow His example by serving men. This truth, the humbling of ourselves to God and our peers, is found throughout Scripture. We see this exemplified by Moses, David, Paul, and as already mentioned, Jesus Christ. In each of their lifetimes they saw other people as more important than themselves, and by submitting themselves they lived out amazing examples of selflessness.

  1. Moses willing to suffer hell for Israel (Exodus 32:31-32)
  2. David exhibits great kindness to lame Mephibosheth (2nd Samuel 9)
  3. Paul willing to suffer hell for Israel (Romans 9:3-5)
  4. Jesus Christ washes the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-15)
Christ’s words are simple, yet difficult. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34) It’s as if Moses and David knew God so well that they didn’t need to hear His new commandment; they knew His heart, that He loved mankind and longed to see him turn from his sin to a relationship with Himself.

Beyond the obvious application of loving others more than yourself, I must also ask you and myself: how well do we know God? Our love for others will rest upon the knowledge of our Father and the fellowship we have with Him. Jesus went on to say in verse 35 of John 13, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” May it be our life’s passion to glorify God by daily dying to ourselves, and lifting up the needs of those around us higher than our own, in order that this world would come to know that our God is LORD.

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