MONDAY February 3rd
I wonder if anyone has considered since the last devotion as to what the word I am going to introduce today is going to be as we continue to think about our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus? You may have possibly come up with three words.
Well, I gave a clue that it was linked to the verses from Philippians that remind us that God has exalted the Lord Jesus Christ and given him the name which is above all names. The answer is found in the verses that precede, and it is verses 4-8
‘Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross’.
The three possible words are first, servant, but this is going to be for another devotion, the other two are similar, submission and surrender. They both are synonyms of each other, but Paul is remining us that Jesus was highly exalted because he had learned submission, he had surrendered to the will of his Father.
The well-known verses that we can link to this theme is from Luke 22:39-42
‘And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”’
The verses that follow tell us that Jesus was in such anguish as he contemplated what lay ahead of him, that an angel came to strengthen him, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.
In those agonising moments, Jesus submitted himself, surrendered himself to the will and the purpose of God. He had already humbled himself in becoming a man, he further humbled himself by being obedient in going to place of death on the cross—and it was all because he loved you and me!
Paul says that we should have the same mind among us that Jesus had—that is we in becoming a part of the family of God also need to learn obedience through submitting and surrender ourselves to the will of God.
As I am typing this, I suddenly realised that the song playing in the background is a song of surrender, ‘I the Lord of land and sea’ and the chorus part says this:
‘Here I am Lord, is it I Lord, I have heard you calling in the night, I will go Lord, if you lead me, I will hold your people in my heart.’
Previously I had been listening to the song ‘When I survey the wondrous Cross’ and this also calls us to a place of surrender, ‘Love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all’.
Pause for a moment and settle your mind to think of Jesus as he knelt in the garden—submitting, surrendering to his Father’s will. Think of the anguish and the agony he was going through, think of the sweat drops of blood—if that does not move us to thank him for being obedient we will consider in the next devotion of how much he willingly suffered because he loved us with an everlasting love.