The Attitude We Are To Imitate

What about a middle eastern man who lived two thousand years ago is so incredible that His life and teaching are still studied, debated, and by some, followed?

Everything.

Every single one of His teachings are so countercultural because none of them line up with human nature. But perhaps the most incredible thing about the way He lived – and the way His followers are called to live – is summed up in the following verses:

“Have this attitude in yourselves that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)

Human nature demands that we make a name for ourselves by declaring to the world who we are and what we can do, but that’s not what Jesus did, and that’s not how He calls us to live. Jesus is God, but He let His status go (without actually letting go of being God) and came down to our terminally sin-sick world and gave us life. He put aside His splendor and stepped into the story He was writing, but there wasn’t a moment when He wasn’t in control. The really awesome thing is how He used His power as God; He didn’t use it for His benefit, He used it to give us eternal life. When it looked like He had lost and death had won, Jesus stepped out of the shadows of the grave into the sunshine and showed the world that He was the Son of God.

To sum all this up in a few words and pass on the challenge I received: Jesus died for me so I can live for Him.