By David ReayFriday 27 Feb 2015LifeWords DevotionalsCultureReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Philippians 2:5-8
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came,he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave,became human! Having become human,he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead,he lived a selfless,obedient life and then died a selfless,obedient death-and the worst kind of death at that-a crucifixion. (THE MESSAGE)
One way we can avoid pain is to avoid relationships and commitment. We detach ourselves from other human beings and,to the extent we are able,from life itself. We withdraw into what we imagine to be a safe cocoon where no one can get to us or harm us.
The problem is that we can’t entirely insulate ourselves from the human condition. And in our frantic desire to escape pain we also escape the possibility of pleasure. We simply cannot choose to only experience pleasure without pain: the two come bundled together in the human life. And so most of us embrace life and soon taste its disappointments and delights.
Which brings us to Jesus’ coming to earth. To do the truly good and loving thing he had to expose himself to evil and suffering. He didn’t stay detached. He got his hands dirty. In so doing,he offers us a model of involvement,of attachment. Whenever we choose to be involved in the human race we choose the possibilities of pain and pleasure. Life is not always neat or nice but we usually choose to live it anyway rather than run away from it.
Thankfully,that is the decision Jesus made too. It led him to the path of grief and glory.
Blessings
David Reay