Advent · Day 24 · Tuesday, December 22
He emptied himself
Let your thinking among yourselves be the same as it was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not think of being equal with God as something to grasp. Rather, he emptied himself and took the form of a servant, coming in the likeness of human beings.
Paul tells Christmas in one sentence: though Jesus was in the form of God, he emptied himself and took the form of a servant.
He did not stop being God. He let go of his rights. He came as a baby, grew up to work with his hands, washed his friends’ feet, and died on a cross.
Paul wrote this to a church that was quarreling. Think the way Jesus thought, he says. December brings crowded tables and old tensions. Christmas shows a way to sit at them: let go of being right.
Pray
Lord Jesus, you let go of so much for me. Teach me to let go of my rights and serve the people at my table this Christmas. Amen.
Carry it today
Where do you need to let go of being right?