Text: Philippians 2.5-8
The Apostle Paul teaches, as followers of Jesus, we should mirror the heart and mind of Jesus. At the heart of this “mindset” is a humble willingness to give up your life to serve others. Jesus did this by giving his life on the cross so we might live. Since our life is now found in him, our remaining time on earth is to be leveraged to serve and care for others. We no longer exist for ourselves.
When we agree to follow Jesus, we agree to give our life away. This is one of the difficult, yet fundamental, truths about following Jesus. In reality, following Jesus is rarely pitched as “death to self.” It’s important to know upfront—following Jesus will be the death of you. But ultimately this death is life!
The gift of life we receive in Jesus is exponentially greater than any life we could gain or retain on our own. When we die to ourselves and selflessly love others, we experience an eternal life that is far beyond the understanding of the watching world.
Today, consider those relationships that naturally ask you to love selflessly. Consider this love an act of worship to God and give freely expecting nothing in return. No matter how small the action may seem, know that God receives this with great joy. Then we will begin to experience life and fullness that comes only through mirroring Jesus.
