“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:5-7)
“I’m so proud of my son. He wants to make a name for himself!” A famous athlete said those words recently. That sounds so natural, doesn’t it? So right. “Go out there and make a name for yourself! Find a way to stand out! Rise above the crowd!” Isn’t that what life is about?
At least, that’s what I’ve often made my life about. When I look at my life, I see time after time when my actions and my decisions are driven by a desire to make a name for me. How about you?
So listen to what Jesus did: “He made himself nothing.” That’s different, isn’t it? That’s what Jesus did. “He made himself nothing.” Literally. Jesus is God himself. That’s what the Bible says: “being in very nature God.” If you are “in very nature” something, you are that thing! Jesus is God himself.
But instead of sitting on his throne and using his divinity to his own advantage, “he made himself nothing.” Jesus allowed himself to become a tiny, helpless embryo in Mary’s womb. He allowed himself to be born in a stable and placed in a feeding trough. He didn’t live his life on earth as a King, but as a servant to everyone, even dying on a cross for sinners like you and me. Jesus made himself nothing.
Isn’t that upside-down? Jesus’ grace and humility are so hard for our selfish minds to comprehend. But when you do, you’ll find freedom. Life is not about you making a name for yourself. Life is about how Jesus made himself nothing for you, so that he could give you a name by grace: Forgiven Child of God.
When you understand that no name could possibly be better than what Jesus already calls you, you don’t have to fight each day to make a name for yourself. Instead, “in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Today you can rest confidently in the name that Jesus has already given you and make yourself nothing in service to others. May God bless you as you do!
Dear Jesus, you had everything. Yet you made yourself nothing for me. May your grace and sacrifice wipe away my sinful ambitions and fill me with the strength to make myself nothing for others. Amen.
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