5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8, NLT)
Humble.
There is so much fanfare, hype, glitz, and spending at Christmas. It sort of takes over. And we overlook the simplicity that characterized the first Christmas.
A young couple. A husband who could have demanded his own rights, yet humbly cared for his wife and believed that God had a plan. A young woman who was probably scared to death, determined to be God’s servant…a pretty humbling choice to make.
A stable. A manger. And the first recorded visitors: shepherds. The King was not invited. He wasn’t even informed. The wise men who sought him came later. Came to the palace, but found the Messiah in a humble home.
Humble.
Paul paints a really clear picture of what Jesus gave up to come to us. Live with us, showing us God’s love and grace, and then giving his life.
I’m humbled by that.
He did that for me. He did that for you.
I did a word study once and the word humble has a root that we would recognize as humus…you know like dirt. Remind you of anything? Adam was made from the dirt. He had a humble beginning. And Jesus chose to be humble.
How will you be humble this Christmas season?
Pot of Manna 