Look to the Interest of Others

Jesus Is Lord
Exalting Christ
Jesus' Humility and Exaltation

He Took on the Status of a Slave

2 ^1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

For Reflection

Lots of people focus on the afterlife portion of salvation.  They sometimes forget that salvation is not only for the afterlife.  Your transformation into a God-centered life saves you from slavery to culture-centered pressures. Our cultures often times drive us away from agape love.  They seem to favor self-reliance rather than reliance on God.  They drive conformity to the collective morality, and acceptable ways of living.  Christianity is a counter-culture movement. Christians are saved from enslavement to the ordinary.  The Christ event offers the extraordinary.  To be saved is to live a life extraordinary in God-centeredness.

Pray

That you will practice love.  Pray that all people will find courage to reject the cultural pressures that drive them to self-centeredness.  Pray that all those in need will find God-centered friends in their lives. Pray that you will sacrifice your self-centerdness for servitude.