Philippians 2:5-11 “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. And being found in appearance as a man,… 

He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,  in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus is our example.The bible tells us that He had a singular mindset. He had a job to do and He did it. Even though He IS God, He did not use that fact to His own advantage. Imagine that. He had a special place with Almighty God’s favour and He did not use it to benefit Himself. Wow. That sure turns some theology on its head eh? Not only did He centre His thoughts on His Father’s agenda for His life, and subsequent death, Christ actively made Himself nothing. Some people around Him at that time were so unimpressed by Him that they could not accept who He was … because His Facebook page was not well liked. He only had 12 followers!

God Himself becoming a man is HUGE. Then Jesus topped that by serving us while He was here, and after He left! I get annoyed at people who take what the Lord did and use it to try and nag Him to give them this that or the other. How can we call ourselves His followers when we are looking for some benefit or angle? We are here to serve, both the Lord as well as each other – anything else is classified as… ‘all these things shall be added unto you …!’ 

But first, comes the kingdom. The Christian life is about focus. Every now and then we all need a reality check, what is our central focus? Devotion to Christ and His words – or –  whatever will be to my advantage? Christianity is not a gimme club. It is a conscious conviction and choice that this life is not all there is, so we choose to use our time here to do the things we’ve personally been assigned, to further His kingdom. Whatever that looks like, wherever you happen to be. 

In the past 8 days His love looked like my husband cooking all the meals, and driving 1500 kms with a sore hand. Unfortunately I was unwell for most of the time we were away, I am still wrangling with my health now, so I was no help to him. He did all of it so gladly without complaining. Plus he did stuff like loading up the car, then unloading it. 

He has to help me with showers – showers are often the wrong shape for someone like me – climbing into a bath to take a shower is like climbing Mt. Everest – forget about how slippery it is! He prepares all the food, we do not eat the same things, so he prepares 2 meals for every single meal. He got up at least twice during the night for 5 nights in a row to get cold packs for my vastly overheated face. Yet he STILL stopped for the one in front of us over and over again, as the Lord led us. My hubby is my inspiration. He has visibly taught me to love others in a sacrificial fashion because of his daily efforts to facilitate my life. 

In our time away we gave away 386 things, in 6 days – I was so unwell for 2 other days he had to look after me. Those thing included 285 bibles, 21 bookmarks, plus three $30 supermarket cards, 4 thank you cards with $5 for coffee for the maids and cleaners. We spoke to people in caravan parks, motels, as well as a women’s refuge, and a shelter for the homeless. We left at least three people who had never ever read the bible before, with a bible and they said they were going to read it right away. I wonder if we realise that it is not easy for non-Christians to find a bible in today’s society. Even if the person went looking for one there are too many other things to distract them!

Hubby also gave away 9 of his paintings. The recipients cried. Some of them had tears dripping off their faces, and others started to cry the minute he began to speak. We also gave 12 prophetic words to totally unchurched people. I said all that to finally say this – if we do not go – who will tell them? Jesus humbled Himself, and became a man just like us, to give us the power to humble ourselves and become like Him. You won’t find a finer destiny than that one. 👋🏻