PURSUE THIS LOFTY GOAL

 

 

Bob Richard's, the Olympic pole vaulter of years ago, loved to tell the story of a boy who played football. If there was mischief to be done, this kid was doing it. Everything was casual, no big deal. And he added very little to the team. He practiced but wasn't committed. He showed up to play, but never with enthusiasm. He liked to hear the cheers but not to charge the line.

One day the coach came over and said, "Hey, kid, here is a telegram for you." The kid said, "Read it for me Coach." The coach opened it and read, "Dear son, your father is dead. Come home immediately." The coach swallowed hard and said, "Kid, take the rest of the week off." In truth, he didn't care if he ever came back.

The teams came running onto the field, and lo and behold, the kid. No sooner were they on the side line when the kid started saying, "Coach, can I play tonight? The coach thought, "Kid, you’re not playing tonight. This is the big game. We need every real guy we have and you are not one of them." Yet every time the coach turned around there was this kid, "Coach Please I have to play."

The first quarter ended with the score lopsided against the coach and his team. At half time they were further back. The second half started and things got progressively worse. Up came this kid, "Coach, Coach, let me play." The coach looked at the scoreboard and said, "All right. Get in there kid. You can't hurt anything now." No sooner did the kid hit the field than he exploded. He ran, blocked, and tackled like a star.

 In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The kid was everybody's hero. After the game the coach said, "Kid, I never saw anything like that. What in the world happened to you out there?" He said, "Coach, my dad died last week. My dad was blind and today was the first day he could ever see me play."

After addressing the church of Philippi as a unified whole (Phil 1:1–2), Paul offers a prayer for them to achieve this unity (Phil 1:3–11). He then gives his own life as a model (Phil 1:12–26) and urges the church to live lives of humility and unity without (Phil 1:27–30) and within the church (Phil 2:1–4). Finally, Paul turns his attention to the powerful example of Christ Himself.

He writes “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing (Phil. 2:5-8). Paul begins this section with a command “have the same mindset which was also in Christ Jesus”. It is not enough to admire the mindset of Christ, we must imitate it.

They were to deliberately develop the same mindset as Christ based upon careful study of his life. Paul invites them to rethink their attitude based upon Christ’s attitudes (2:6) and actions (2:7–8). When we believe in Christ, we become new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); we receive the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). But we must choose to walk in it. We shall not act like Christ for the rest of our lives without continually fostering His mind. We can conform to the patterns of the world (Rom 12:2).

What is the mindset of Christ? What does it look like? Paul proceeds to describe it, he selects those qualities of Jesus which fit the current needs of the Philippians - their “relationships with one another”. He says Christ “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage”. Jesus was not trying to achieve equality with the Father, he had it. He was the exact representation of who and what God is in every way. Who is Jesus?

Jesus is the creator; together with his father they created the Universe (Gen 1, John 1:2-3). They created the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them (Exodus 20:11). They created all things: both visible and invisible, thrones and dominions, principalities and powers (Col 1:16). They formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air (Gen 2:19), the great sea creatures and every living therein (Gen. 1:21).

They created the sun, the moon and the stars (Gen 1:14-18). God’s hand stretched out the heavens and commanded all their hosts (Isa. 45:12). He established the mountains by his strength (Ps. 65:6). His power is in the skies (Ps. 68:34), he calls the stars by name and he sustains them on their steady path (Isa. 40:26). God summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting (Ps 50:1)

The investigation of Modern science admits it took tremendous power to create the universe. Yet God only had to speak to bring it into existence (Ps 33:6-9). When Pharaoh asked, “who is God that I should obey him?” (Exod. 5:2). The answer was demonstrated in a way he could never forget (Exod. 7-12). Later God made a dry way through the red sea (Exod.14:21-22) and the river Jordan (Joshua 3:14-17). God has all power and there is nothing difficult for him to accomplish (Jer. 32:17).

In addition to the creation story, the Bible is full of other stories about the power Jesus demonstrated while on earth. Isaiah had predicted he would be the mighty God (Isa.9:6); all power was given to him (Matt 28:18) and he demonstrated it. He walked on stormy seas (Matt.14:22-33). He rebuked storms and they became perfectly calm (Matt 8:23-26). He changed water to wine (John 2:1-11).

He saw what Nathanael was doing very far away (John 1:48). He called fishes into a net in broad daylight (Luke 5:4-9). His commanded a fish to pay his tax (Matt 17:24-27). His words caused a fig tree to wither (Matt 21:18-20). A simple touch of his garment cured a bleeding woman instantly (Luke 8:43-44). He healed the sick, delivered the demon possessed and raised the dead (Matt 9:24-34); he called Lazarus out of a grave (John 11:43-44). Death had no power over him (Acts 2:24)

We have life because he gives it to us (Acts 17:25, 28); Job said “his wisdom is profound his power is vast, he moves mountains, he shakes the earth, he speaks to the sun and it does not shine. Were he to snatch away who could restrain him? Who could say to him what are you doing?”(Job 9). Jesus upholds all things by his power (Heb. 1:2-3) and he holds all things together (Col. 1:17) and keeps the world is firmly established (Ps 93:1). The only reason the universe does not disintegrate is because Jesus is holding it together.

Equality with God was never a possibility for Satan because he was a created being. Nevertheless, Satan sought to attain equality with God (Isaiah 14:13-14). This brought about his downfall and eternal destruction (Revelation 20:10). Satan later tempted Adam and Eve to try to be like God (Gen. 3:4-5). The result was the fall of the human race. Anyone who tries to make himself equal with God in any way should prepare for certain repercussions.

Though equal with God, Jesus did not seize this as an opportunity to further His own interests at the expense of the Father. Jesus made Himself of no reputation. He warned people not to tell others about his miracles fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy “he will not quarrel or cry out , no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out (Matt 12: 18-21).  He did not use his power to intimidate or threaten. He was led to the cross like a sheep to the slaughter; he did not open his mouth (Isa 53:7).

We will never know what glory Jesus gave up or what humiliation He suffered on our behalf until we are with Him in glory. Think on who Jesus is and on what He did. It should make us realize that no personal sacrifice we make, no humiliation we go through, can ever match what our Savior did for us! Jesus willingly released all of His personal rights. Living up to the mindset of Christ is not easy. It’s a pursuit that humbles every believer to dust; nevertheless, we are commanded to pursue this lofty goal.