Secure.

Philippians 2:5-11 MSG says, “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.

Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.”

We learnt last week how Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ and through Him we have access to the mind of Jesus Christ. Our verses today are telling us how we ought to live our lives as Christians. If we want to live a life that honours God, we need to live in humility, selflessness and obedience. For us to do that, we need to be secure in our identity in Christ.

Being humble, selfless and obedient are not characteristics that come naturally to all of us. Because they do not come naturally to us, we need to turn to God to be able to live them out. What I am realising more and more is that anything that finds its fulfillment outside of God remains unsatisfied, incomplete, distorted, broken or chaotic. There is a thirst for identity on the inside of us and when we go looking for our identity outside of God, it gets messy.  

Our verses today tell us to think of ourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. How did Jesus think of Himself? Our verses say, Jesus 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. Jesus did not feel the need to name drop or throw in some humble brags about who He was. He was humble. Does being humble mean a denial of who we are or what we have? No. We don’t see Jesus telling His disciples that He is not worthy of their time and devotion. “Oh no, I’m just a carpenter’s son, why would you care to hear what I have to say.” No. He did not belittle Himself.

Humility is a heart posture, and its evidence is in what we do. Jesus dedicated the last three years of His life serving people. Healing people. Reconciling people with God. Telling them about Papa God and the Kingdom of God. The night before His crucifixion we see Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.  Jesus was all about others. He gave His life for us, not just on the cross but in the years leading up to it. He wanted us to have a clear understanding of who God is, who He is. He was secure in His identity. So secure that He was able to live a selfless, obedient life and then die a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. He could have easily called down angels from heaven and walked away from it all. He could have told the guards as they whipped Him, “Do you know who I am?” But the Bible says He was silent, Isaiah 53:7.

As Christians, how do we get secure in our identity? Through Holy Spirit. In and of ourselves it is difficult to think of ourselves the way Jesus thought of Himself. It is hard to be humble and stay humble. It is hard to be secure in our identity because we can easily attach it to social status, our friends, our stuff, our job, our kids, our hair, our voice, our cars, whatever it may be. How often do we ask or get asked to talk a little about ourselves and the first thing we say (after our name) is what we do. I am an accountant. I am a teacher. I am a programmer.

We easily attach our identity to what we do, which is why we find it so difficult to accept God’s love sometimes because it has nothing to do with what we have or have not done. God just loves us just because we are His children. The day we accepted Jesus as our Lord, we became God’s children.

For us to be humble, selfless and obedient to God, we need Holy Spirt. For us to truly know who we truly are so we, like Jesus, can fulfil the call of God on our lives, we need Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:15-17 TPT says, “And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough.  But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”  For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has.  We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own.”

Holy Spirit reveals to us our true identity and helps us embrace who we are in Christ.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.