September 3 - Philippians 2: Spilling Out

"The attitude that ruled in My Son can fill your mind and direct your will. [2:5-11]. He emptied Himself of His holy right to display His eternal magnificence. You can empty yourself of demanding and parading success, of seeking and winning recognition, of requiring and depending on good treatment from others - you can empty yourself in order to advance My plan, to honor My Son, and through My Spirit to bring Us pleasure." 66 LL

I'm knee-deep in the process of examining my life - piece by piece, relationship by relationship - and asking God to show me what I haven't been able to see on my own. And no surprise, He's been remarkably faithful in showing me reality.

I'm seeing where I've sinned and contributed to unhealthy and broken relationships; where I've valued self-protection over Christ-like love; where I've tried to consistently avoid pain by avoiding my (and others') emotions; and where I've subconsciously held onto resentments rather than fully forgiving and letting them go.

In other words, I have not emptied myself, but instead, have been demanding of God and others. It's painful and humbling to see how much more I've been interested in pleasing myself than in pleasing God and serving others.

Yet Paul tells the Philippians:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself...He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!...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. (2:5-8)

"Paul doesn't tell us that we can be happy, or how to be happy. He simply and unmistakably is happy. None of his circumstances contribute to his joy...But circumstances are incidental compared to the life of Jesus, the Messiah, that Paul experiences from the inside. For it is a life that not only happened at a certain point in history, but continues to happen, spilling out into the lives of those who receive him, and then continues to spill out all over the place. Christ is, among much else, the revelation that God cannot be contained or hoarded. It is this "spilling out" quality of Christ's life that accounts for the happiness of Christians, for joy is life in excess, the overflow of what cannot be contained within any one person." Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Philippians

There's a part of me that can't imagine feeling joyful if things aren't going my way. As much as I repent of it, my idol of control is still alive and well. But I'm drawn to the truth that Christ's life of love and power can spill out of me to refresh others. God says this is reality. Joy is not found in my circumstances, but in Jesus, who cannot be contained within me.

"I want you to sit with My words. Let them lift you into the realm of unmanageable mystery, of impossible possibilities. Then listen both with a humble mind that desperately trusts that nothing is impossible with Me and with an open heart, a willingness to hope for what you can never pull off on your own." 66 LL