Thought for the Day - Sunday 27 September

Thought for the Day – Sunday 27th September ‘Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2: 1-11) If you have ever played bridge or whist you will know how important it is to always follow suit. So, for example, if a heart is laid, then you must lay a heart and if a spade is laid then you must lay a spade and the only time you don’t follow this rule of following suit is when you have no cards of that particular suit within your hand left to lay. Choosing not to follow this rule can result in the game becoming chaotic and perhaps even impossible to play. It seems to me that commitment as a Christian is quite similar, for as Christians we are encouraged to follow suit but in a slightly different way. For as our passage for today says we are encouraged as far as possible to follow the lead of Christ in all our actions, to show the same love, compassion, dedication and devotion as he did. Now I know this can be a daunting task for us at times, a true challenge, even a real struggle and indeed in fact I think without his help we may even find it impossible. However, following Christ in this way should always be our goal, for this is not a card game we are talking about here but rather just how far our lives point others to Jesus. So we must try to the best of our abilities to follow suit! I know in light of these words of scripture you might want to ask me – but what does it mean for us today to empty ourselves as Jesus did and how on earth can we shed our sense of self, our sense of importance, our sense of identity as he did. Just how can we become like Christ and be empty enough to don humility and to take on the character of God. I suppose you might also want to ask me what it would mean for us to be obedient to the point of death as Jesus was and the death of our self. Well I suppose it means the ‘death’ of our human desire to be loved and recognised, a ‘death’ that allows for humility and service. In other words, we become dead to our self, we humbly serve others and we become more fully open to God and his guidance and leading. It means that we journey with Christ in the hope that the very nature of Jesus will rub off of him and be born in us. It means that we try and bring the light of love into every situation we encounter, even to those crosses we have to bear in life. It means we think first and foremost in all situations as to what Jesus would do – then we just might be on our way to having the mind-set of Christ. Prayer Loving Lord, In the fullness of time you emptied yourself, becoming weak in power to be strong in love. Today fear and trembling still fill our days and shake our faith; come, Lord, and help us to shift from fear to awe. Move us from trembling to transformation that we might not confuse the love of infinite power for the power of infinite love. Today, we pray for those in places of privilege and power that empty words and empty promises might be replaced with the fullness of justice and the honesty of humility. We pray for those under the thumb of privilege and power: for voices silenced, for breath suppressed and for lives destroyed. Gracious Lord, Bend our knees that we might uplift all those long-held down, all those long ignored, all those bound by powers and principalities into shapes that seek to hide your image shining within them. Lord, encourage us to be of that same mind, of that same spirit, of that unity in Christ that first wound the world with the cords of your grace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Hymn Why not take time today to sing ‘At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow’ Blessing You are one of God’s beloved. Step out into the world we live in and let your words and actions be testimony to God who loves you beyond measure, we who are treasured by God, inspired by Jesus, and led by the Holy Spirit each and every day of our lives.