Being Like Him - a 40 Day Lenten Devotionalნიმუში

Self - Emptying

Jesus’ incarnation is the greatest act of self-emptying. Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians encourages them to have an attitude like that of Christ in emptying oneself for one another. He exhorts believers to be like Him, who made himself as nothing.

When the world is constantly gearing us into becoming something to prove ourselves as someone, Jesus decided to make himself nothing. Our very common fear in emptying oneself is the fear of being taken advantage of or being walked over.

The Kingdom principle is very different from the principle of the world. The Bible says, the one who exalts himself will be brought low, the one who leads needs to be the servant and the one who wants to be the greatest should become the least in the Kingdom. Who better portrayed this attitude than Jesus himself? He emptied himself of all His powers and glory to become a bond-servant to humankind. Consequently, God the Father exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the Name above all names.

However, in a world of spiritual blindness, we are bombarded to project and build ourselves a brand or an image that is recognizable and influential. In this ideology of pursuit, one is looking at short term glory and gain. Contrastingly we see Jesus doing very unpopular things and yet being the One is who heard and known on Earth.

An example of such a kind is Mother Teresa, known as the ‘Gutter Saint’. Her assets at the end of her life journey were a bucket and her two sets of sarees. She truly became “nothing” for His kingdom sake. There is a popular story of her going to the streets of Kolkata to raise money for the poor children. She encountered a certain wealthy man who spat on her hand when she held it out. Mother Teresa wiped the spit onto her sari and held out the other hand and simply said, “Sir I have received what I deserve, now can you give to the needs of the poor?”

Humanly, I cannot imagine myself in her place. I would have probably flipped out in rage and ended up cursing him. But her act of emptiness turned the man’s heart around. She is more popular than any other Fortune 500 companies there are. Her funeral was honored with several Presidents and Prime Ministers. It was not the media that exalted her, rather it was God, whose mission she was doing. Are we ready to crucify ourselves so that Christ will be seen in us? Let’s plead to the Lord for His grace to become like Him in our life.

Prayer

Lord, to be like you in our attitude of “self-emptying” we need more of you in us. Humble us that you may lift us up through your Holy Spirit for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.