Merry Christmas! Thank you for making our devotions a small part of your day. May you have a wonderful time with friends and family!
“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.” Philippians 2:5-7 (ESV)
This December, as I was preparing my heart for Christmas, I gained a new awareness of what it meant for the Son of God to empty Himself and take the form of a servant. Although He was fully God, He became fully man, not just when He was born in the manger, or when He walked on earth, but for all of eternity!
We as humans will never fully understand what that really means this side of heaven, because then and only then will we know what He gave up to become a ransom for many! “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, ESV)
Somehow in all my years of studying the Bible, that reality has made me stop and think these past few months. When in Acts 1:11 we are told that “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven,” it means just that — He will return fully God and still fully man! He will greet me with His nail-scarred hands when I finally get to see Him face to face.
And so as I look at my nativity scene this Christmas, it is with a new sense of adoration and awareness of the humility of Christ. He gave up heaven to come down and be born in a manger, to serve, being born in the likeness of men, so that He can represent humanity before the throne of God for all of eternity. How amazing is that?
Dear Jesus, I cannot even imagine what heaven is like, and therefore how much You were willing to give up to come to earth as a baby. Thank You that You emptied Yourself and took on the form of a servant so that You could give Your life as a ransom for many. And that today, You are seated at the right hand of the Father, acting as my advocate, my mediator, my intercessor. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
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Have a wonderful Christmas, and as you do, celebrate the One Who emptied Himself to serve! Set your heart on being a true servant to those around you.