Philippians

I’m a jerk, and that’s a plain fact. As my wife says I’m “Mr. Meany-pants”. It’s true. Not only am I internally mean, I’m externally mean. When God made me, he had some extra clay around and accentuated some features to drive the point home. As a friend observed once, “Even when you’re caring for me and intentionally listening, you still look angry.” It’s due to the abnormally large chin and brow that I have. But what can I say, some good facial features for telling ghost stories is a real bonus some times… except for all those times when I really want to love people.

Ambivalence to love other people in my own heart is something the Holy Spirit has been taking some dynamite to lately. When I see my sin clearly, I feel cornered and hopeless. I feel like the Israelites looking at the Red Sea behind them and Pharaoh in front of them: “I’m toast”. But just as God was faithful and opened up a way to life through the Red Sea, he has opened up a way to life through the blood of Jesus Christ. As Pharaoh died in the Red Sea, Satan, Sin and Death died in their power over me in the death of Jesus Christ for me.

So the Holy Spirit has drawn my attention to Philippians 2:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 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 made himself nothing, 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.(Phil. 2:1-8)

Meaning: Because you are united with Jesus Christ, your unloving heart and the wrath from God that it deserves is dealt with on the Cross, and all that you need to love and the example of how to live it is already yours in Him. Problem, sin; solution, Jesus. I don’t love people like I should, but Jesus did; he even loved me. I can’t effect the change I need. I can’t muster up a cake from the mud of my heart. But what I do have is Jesus, and Jesus has love. Even more, because Jesus has the love I need, and Jesus is mine, I can have his love too. But at a cost: I must die. Jesus must take over who I am – my presumptions, my conceits, my anger, my suspicions – and kill them in his cross for me to have his life living in me. This is the “encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy” of the Gospel. Yea, I die; but I gain Christ.

What about you? If you were honest, how often are you ambivalent to love people? The “mind of Christ” is to intentionally have “the affection of Christ” for others. Do you? Are compassion, affection, sympathy and love attributes that would describe you? Being nice doesn’t count. Jesus loved not merely irritating neighbors, but he loved jihadist rebels with a mission to kill him. The love was on his end, not warranted by the actions of others. What about your love?

If you feel cornered, don’t panic, just read the post again.