Philippians 2:7 “…he made himself nothing by taking the nature of a servant.” [NIV]
Jesus become nothing so we wouldn’t be.
As our small group was studying the second chapter of Philippians, it became clear that the challenge to walk in humility is not for the faint of heart. Admonishments like “do nothing out of selfish ambition,” “value others above yourself,” and put “others’ interests ahead of your own” seem beyond our poor reach (vs. 3-4). In fact, they are. The thought of putting others above ourselves runs counter-intuitive to our fallen, self-centered nature.
We need something far greater than ourselves to pull us out of the quicksand of self. We need Jesus. The One who became nothing.
I believe our deepest human concern lies in the fear of being nothing, of lives without meaning, without purpose. Yet Jesus, the one we’re called to imitate, became nothing. He humbled himself even to the point of a cruel, seemingly senseless death. He made himself nothing. And when he did, he unleashed the power to deliver us from our greatest fear. He made it possible for us to be something,
Jesus gave himself over completely to the will of his father. When temptation tried to detour him toward self-interests, he refused every time. He wanted to please God. In fact, nothing mattered more. “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Now how could Jesus have devoted every second of his time on earth desiring to obey God?
Because he had seen God. He knew who God was.
I believe the more we see God, the more we know him, and the more we know him, the more we want to obey him. Relinquishing our paltry pursuit of self-fulfillment makes sense when we get even a glimpse of his outrageous kindness and compassion, his breathtaking beauty, his absolute purity.
Jesus knew the same God whose very words brought something out of nothing when he created the universe, still speaks. He listened intently to every whisper. And he responded with love and obedience. Jesus didn’t even cling to his equality with God! He traded it all for the greater plan of giving us a shot to lay down our nothingness and become something.
Ah, friend, I pray you don’t miss it.