IMITATE JESUS

Philippians 2:5 states our ideal position:

“Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus”.

Our one motive should be to follow Him and become more like Him. That’s the motive that should supersede and reign over any others. How do we practically live that out?
I think the clue is in the following verses.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Our focus has to be on becoming nothing. Nothing is not our status or worth. We are always holy and dearly loved children of the King.
Nothing is to be our chosen position as a servant.

How does this look in everyday life? Jesus is our perfect example. He is everything: the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is so incredibly powerful and important that Colossians 1:16 says “all things were created by him and for him” .

Despite His exalted position, Jesus showed the purity of His motives toward us by giving up all He had.

 

As I’ve thought about how to imitate Jesus in my motives, I ask myself two questions when making choices:

• Does this put me or others first?

• Is this a choice to be more or to be nothing? Am I Bankrupt to self?

These two questions expose any twisted motives and bring me back to my chosen position of nothing. Day by day, my motives are refined.  I keep thinking of the Eternal Perspective vs here on earth. It’s a painful process sometimes, but it’s a good process that ultimately produces pure motives with divine outcomes.

While the Beatitudes of Jesus (Matthew 5) provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth.

*Jesus teaching is of Transformation of the INNER Person.

*Only God’s Divine Love can give us the identity and purpose we need to live life to the fullest.

Lord God, You are the only One with uncontaminated motives. I confess mine are often mixed with pride, emotion, or personal opinion. Please purify my heart. Forgive me and help me move forward with a pure heart. Amen