December 23
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 NIV
In our sophisticated, fast-moving, pressurized world, some have arrived where they are and accomplished what they did by knocking people down and using them along the way. They arrived at “greatness” by stepping on people to ascend their staircase of success. We need to rediscover “greatness” from the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Born in humble circumstances, he came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). No one could possibly stoop lower than Jesus in his service. True Christian life (and leadership) involves self-emptying service, mirroring Christ's attitude, not self-promotion. Christians are exhorted to follow the attitude of humility displayed in his incarnation and death in their relationships with one another:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:3-11).
During the incarnation, Jesus possessed the form of God and was equal with God. How did he make himself nothing or empty himself? “By taking the form of a servant [and] by becoming in the likeness of humanity.” In the condition of “form of a servant,” he did not manifest the form of God outwardly. The form of a servant served as a temporary veil cloaking the form of God. Later, as an adult, Jesus was transfigured. During the transfiguration, the cloaking veil was removed, and his glory was shown, demonstrating that Jesus still possessed the form of God (Matthew 17:1-13). D.A. Carson remarks, “He became a 'nobody' so that God would exalt him above everybody.”
It is time to end the dead-end journey of personal greatness and affluence and look to the “nobody” who has been exalted above “everybody?”
The cross, not just the manger, defines God's love and power. Christ is God's power and wisdom. The Christmas story leads to the cross, showing God's willingness to give His Son for sinners. At the cross, you find forgiveness. Believe in him and his death for your sins to be forgiven. In Christ, find hope this Christmas.