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If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:1-13)
Some years ago, WWJD was very popular. You saw it on bracelets, t-shirts, keychains; any number of things. The initials stood for What Would Jesus Do? It was meant to stimulate your thinking as you faced a question or decision; what would Jesus do if He were facing this? Paul is thinking along the same lines. He writes a very encouraging passage to the believers in the church of Philippi. He urges thinking like one another to get along, but loving each other in the way Jesus loved them, trying to have the same mind as one another. Paul said for church goers to put others ahead of themselves. And then the clincher: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. This is radical. Not only WWJD, but HWJL? How Would Jesus Live? As you live your life, let every aspect of it be under the scrutiny of Jesus' eyes. Let your speech, your interactions with others, the decisions and choices you make, be just like Jesus thought. Jesus saw us as His beloved brothers and sisters, so should we see each other in the same way. Jesus humbled himself in the form of a servant, so should we - even to the point of death, and even death on a cross.
Paul said, Jesus was given by God "the name that is above all names." It is at the sounding of that name that "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." And that becomes part of who we are, and a part of how we live. Just last night on a social media app, I saw two examples of the power behind our Lord's name. One was a man in another country, who was being assaulted and his attacker pointed a gun at his head, the man stretched out his hands and began to say the name of Jesus. The gun misfired. The man reloads and checks his gun, points it again, and it does not fire. Frustrated he takes a machine gun, fires in the air, and it fires perfectly, points it at the man and it does not fire. He fires again in the air and the gun fired perfectly, and points it at the man, and again, nothing. He runs away from the man. The second was a lady working in a store who is tending to a customer and a robber comes in and points a gun at her. She simply says, "In the name of Jesus, leave my store," and repeats that enough that the man leaves. The name of Jesus is a powerful name. And that is the name of our Savior.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless my life to the point that I can live the way that I should. May my life be a reflection of Jesus. Not only should I ask, what would Jesus do, but let me instead live like Jesus. In His precious name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Live like Jesus! Shock your family and friends!
Eradio Valverde
