Day 75: 1 Timothy

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst."

1 Timothy 1:15

I want to zero in on the middle part of this verse, "...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." I remember the first time it hit me that Jesus was actually God Himself. It was a really big "WHOA...it all makes more sense now" moment that happened to me about 12 years ago. I had just started my walk with God and didn't know much. I wasn't that I didn't believe Jesus was God, but that I had never really thought about it.

During our High School Mission Trip to St. Louis, one of the youth from another church we were teamed up with was teaching about Jesus and His deity and I really liked the way He put it. He asked the kids in our Day Camp if they knew who Jesus was and then asked them to describe Him. The kids described the earthly Jesus. The youth then responded with something like, "Jesus wasn't a man, He was God who became a man." This put the whole emphasis on His deity and takes away from the questions about who He might possibly be; a teacher, a prophet, a rabbi, a messenger from God...

"...Jesus came into the world..."

Putting the emphasis on His humanity first can take away from who He really was. Not the man-God, but God who became a man. The incarnation of Christ is beyond comprehension, but of primary importance to our salvation. Only God could save His creation, and He did it as a man.

Day 71: Philippians

There are many great things in the book of Philippians, but without question the high water mark is 2:5-11. Here Paul gives the deepest and most profound statement on the incarnation - God taking on flesh and becoming the man Jesus of Nazareth.

There are so many things that could be said about it, but I just want to focus in on one thing. While Paul expounds some powerful theology here, it has (and was given for) intensely practical purposes.

The fact that God became a man and lived among us and died on a cross is not simply a theological belief to accept and adopt. No, on the contrary, it is the very example of how God calls us to live as well! Christ demonstrated an unfathomable humility, laying aside His deity and becoming the lowliest of servants. He submitted to the will of the Father to the point of dying the worst death of a criminal although He was without sin.

Such a powerful display illustrates the point Paul was making: that we should consider the needs of others as more important than our own. Just as Christ did not come to be served but to serve, so we too should live as humble servants.

Is that your goal for today? I pray it is, and that God provides us opportunities today to glorify Him by imitating Christ and intentionally serving all those around us.