Looking Out For The Interests Of Others

Why Should The Father Bother

I awoke this morning with a song in my head, "Why Should the Father Bother?", a song from 1979 by Petra. I haven't heard the song in years, but it played clearly in my mind. Here's the chorus:

Why should the Father
Bother to call us His children?
Why should the Spirit
Hear it when we pray?
Why should the Father
Bother to be concerned with all our needs?

The last line of the chorus answers the question:

It's all because of what the Son has done

Ultimate Humility

Based on the answer given in the song, one might subsequently ask, "So then why did God's Son do what he did, sacrificing Himself for the salvation of mankind?" We might never know the complete answer this side of heaven, but we do know what John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he sent His only Son...". See that? It was the love which God had for us all! A love so great that Jesus would give up the glory of heaven and in the ultimate display of humility not only become a man but also face the worst insult, betrayal, and cruelty that mankind could muster!

I am reminded of the scripture:

(5)Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,(6) who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (8) Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 NASB

There's a command given there: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..." Wow! How can there be *any* room for pride in a Christian? If Christ could humble himself to this extent for the purpose of our salvation, why do we struggle to humble ourselves enough to love those in need around us?

If you back up two more verses in that chapter you'll read:

(3)Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;(4) do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3,4 NASB

I think one important aspect of humility is shown here: love for others. Humility is more than just not thinking highly of oneself, but also includes loving those you can reach around you.

The Universe

If you examine the picture below (a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope) closely you will find literally hundreds of galaxy, each of which spans many thousands of light years. The immensity of the Universe cannot be overstated. To think that the creator of this enormous universe actually cares about us individually is amazing. I hope that the realization of the humility shown by Christ encourages you to have "this [same] attitude in yourselves" to stay humble and "look out ... for the interests of others".


- JWS