A wonderful Tuesday morning to you, my friend! The LORD bless you and keep you today!Read Philippians 2:5 – 11 (again)
Today, we continue on with our consideration of this passage that so beautifully communicates the humility of Our Lord; His obedience; and His sacrifice for each of us.
This reading is the consummate fulfillment of the prophecy contained in Isaiah 9 (vv 6):
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;”At Christmastime, we celebrate the birth of the Child – but we rarely consider all of the implications of the the statement “Unto us a Son is GIVEN”. But here is what Paul says about a Son being given from our reading today (vv 7 and 8):
“but (Jesus) made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”.
When I was in the Coast Guard, and during other lifesaving training I received, we utilized a four step approach to rescuing a drowning person: Reach – Throw – Row – Go. The first and best and safest way to rescue someone who is drowning is to reach for them, either directly or with a pole or some other object. And then the next is to throw a lifesaving device to them. Next, you could get in a boat and row to them to save them. The last choice, and the most dangerous choice, is to get in the water and go to the drowning person – this is the last choice because it puts the person making the rescue in the same dangerous environment as the person who is drowning.
Yet, this is exactly what Our Lord and Savior Jesus did for each of us! When we were dying, He left His throne in heaven and came humbly into the world, living with us and being tempted just as we are, but overcoming both sin and death so that each of us could be saved. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way (4:15) “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
This approach to dealing with the issue of sin and evil in a fallen world – that is, creator God who enters into His creation to both relate to and rescue man – is truly unique. No other religion can boast of a Savior like we have in Christ Jesus!“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Amen! And thank You, Jesus!
