Just doing my daily reading the other day (which I must admit, has become not so daily) and I began reading Philippians. Chapter two, verses one through eleven really jumped out. I usually use Eugene Peterson’s The Message for my personal study, so that is why I chose to post that version here. I also just love how blunt it can be at times.
“1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.”
“Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.”
“Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
And if those verses weren’t enough, I love how blunt verses 5 – 8 get. Jesus had equal status with God the father, yet He dropped every advantage, every right He held as part of the Godhead to be one of us. To be human. He felt pain, He had His feelings hurt, He lost friends, He was tempted, He loved, even when that love was unrequited; He was human. And when He had the choice to say no, and to leave us to our own devices, He instead chose to follow through with the final reason for His coming: death. And as verses 9 – 11 state, because of His obedience, God the father has honored Him above all else: past, present and future.
So yeah, I got a lot out of that passage.
Then I bought the first North Point album from the iTunes music store.
It should be no surprise that my favorite song on the album so far is Todd Fields’ version of Not To Us.
Kinda funny how it echoes the sentiment expressed at the end of verse 11:
“Not to us, but to Your name be the glory.”
The Official Four Points Church Blog 