March 11, 2024
Read Leviticus 27, Psalm 70, Philippians 2
So many people love the idea of a promotion. Maybe our talents, skills, or work ethic has paid off for us and we are given a promotion at work, school, or in some other area of life. It could be more money, a better job, a bigger house or some other materialistic resource. Maybe it’s as simple as an upgrade of our phone or some piece of technology that it outdated. What promotion or upgrade have you recently experienced?
Most people do not even think about a downgrade or demotion in life. That idea is foreign to many. A rare few might consider something like that. Maybe they take a different job for less pay to have more time for themselves or family. Maybe they might move to a different location or change schools to live near family or have the lifestyle they desire. Philippians 2 is just this very idea. Paul explains that Jesus took a big demotion to come to the earth. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” vv. 6-7. It goes even further than Jesus becoming a servant. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” v. 8. Jesus would be willing to demote himself to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. WHY… Why would Jesus demote himself like that, ultimately giving up his own life. The answer is a deep mystery, but it is also so simply explained in Scripture. Jesus loved us enough to die for us. We may scratch our heads trying to comprehend this love, but we can be thankful for it all the same. We were loved enough for Jesus to leave the spender and majesty of heaven where he was worshiped day and night to come to earth to give his life for us.
What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.
DId God Really Say... 