What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.
Philippians 2:6-7
How many times has this been heard in your house, “Okay, time to get ready for church”? Most every Sunday, right? And most of us dutifully head to our closet and put on, if not our “Sunday best,” then at least something better than what we’ve been wearing while we’ve hung around the house. I’m not entirely sure where this tradition of dressing up to go to church comes from. I mean, it wasn’t exactly what Jesus did. In fact, when Jesus left his home to attend the first ever Christmas Eve service, he “dressed down” to take on the role of being a servant, and a mighty humble servant at that.
Funny, isn’t it? While I suspect it might not be the case in most of the rest of the world, here in the U.S.A. the majority of people who attend church regularly are much more into dressing up as if they were masters, rather than dressing down to be servants. And there’s more of pride in evidence than humility in many churches. Again, I’m not sure where this all comes from. Well, that’s not true, I believe I have a pretty good idea what’s been going on. Sin.
Oops! Did I just suggest that there is an abundance of sin wrapped up in the attitudes and traditions of much of the Body of Christ in this nation? I think I did. What a thing to say! But hey, the Word tells us that we should have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5), and I just can’t seem to find anything to indicate that the mind of Jesus ever entertained proud thoughts, or that he even once sought to play the part of someone who should be served, rather than devote himself completely to being the servant of all. (Mark 10:45)
Now, I have to say that I don’t believe the Father cares all that much about our raiment. Whether we’re dressed in homespun, or haute couture, I am fairly certain that God is much more interested in how our hearts and minds are adorned. (See 1 Samuel 16:7) Picking something out of our closet, and then admiring ourselves in the mirror doesn’t seem to me to be the best way to “get ready for church.” I certainly don’t believe that’s what Jesus did on Christmas Eve.
I’m not saying we should grab some rags, or roll around in the mud, before we head to church Christmas Eve, or any other time. But it may well be worth pausing to read from the second chapter of Philippians what Jesus did, and check and see if we have more of pride, or of humility, showing. When we consider the attitude of Jesus, who set aside his exalted place of equality with the Father, and came down to Bethlehem, to be born in the most humble of circumstances so that, one day, we should through him be exalted, well, I tell you, it humbles me. And, I believe that, whatever we’re wearing, we’ll all be perfectly attired if we come humbly to the manger to worship the newborn King.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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