Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. It is easy to get caught up in the holiday wrappings as we labor to decorate around the celebration of the arrival of our Savior. But do we really worship Jesus with lights, trees, eggnog and parties? Sometimes it is good to take a long look at the gospel story again at Christmas time. And this Philippians passage leads us to do that today.
Jesus humbled and emptied Himself in the manner of a slave to become that wondrous baby in the manger scene. God came down. The invasion of grace occurred at an unlikely entry point of Bethlehem, and in the humble home of a carpenter's wife, a child would grow to bring a revolution to the world... a revolution of peace and reconciliation that would come by His life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus in life teaches us how to truly live. In His death, He took the worst of our dying away, and in His resurrection guaranteed our own lives beyond hell and the grave. In His humility He became Lord of all. And He calls us to arm ourselves not with power or strength or weapons, but with His same humble obedience so that we might be born again to new life.
Jesus is the Christmas gift. He is the Giver of life and love to all who will only believe the amazing good news as they repent of sin and trust Him for eternal salvation. This also is "yours in Christ Jesus".
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