Pay it Forward.

Imitating Christ's Humility

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

We studied this in church this morning. It really stuck out to me...this is how I WANT to live my life. I WANT to be that light...to fully embody it, exude it, and put others needs above my own at all times. And not just when it is convenient-I want to do it when it is most inconvenient because that is what Jesus did for me. I am sure it wasn't on the top of his "what I'd like to accomplish today" list; to die a horrible painful death to save you and I, but he did it. I feel like for the first time in a long time, no, the first time in my entire life, I can fully say I surrender ALL and mean it. I can fully ask for forgiveness for ALL of my sins, even the deep dark ones I have been hiding afraid to expose, and say take me, love me, use me for Your will. There is no better feeling than making someones day with a random act of kindness. That is what I will strive to do every day, put a smile on when I don't feel like it and go out of my comfort zone to serve others, just as Christ did for ME.

The Greek word "Chara" means to have joy and a calm delight, and the word "Phroneo" means to have a single minded focus and attitude (On GOD). And the word "Doulos" literally means to be a slave/servant. Those words mean so much more when put like that...we hear the words joy, serve, attitude on a regular basis, but when tied together and the root word exposed, along with the passage above...It has such a deeper meaning. My pastor, Mike, did a great job explaining this concept today. There was a story I heard at chruch...a couple was out walking together and got stuck in the middle of a massive downpour. And instead of being grumpy, they looked at eachother and laughed, and enjoyed eachothers company while walking in the rain. The analogy that was given is that we are all facing storms at some point in our lives, and sometimes its best to just let it happen, understand you can't fight it, find something to smile about. I can honestly say my cousin Kristi has done this and been the best example of what it means to strive to be like Christ in difficult and trying situations. (read just a bit of her blog and you will see what I mean...Love you Kris!) THATS what I want to do...

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...