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HE eager willingness of Christ to humble Himself in order to bear our cross is, of course, the reason that we have hope (vs. 5-8). But not only is He our Savior, He is also our example. He is our example of love and humility. Now, we can't follow His moral example without first surrendering to His authority and accepting His forgiveness, but (once regenerated) Christlikeness should be our constant objective. Make no mistake about it, there is no question about how Christlikeness looks. Humility and brotherly love have never been seen more clearly than what we see in Christ. And yet, it is His desire and design to produce the same things in us. He calls us to be "likeminded" (vs. 2). That is, our perspective should match Christ's. And, if your attitude and mine resembles the spirit of our Lord, then realize the agreement that will exist among us. This will produce a beautiful and pleasant atmosphere within the church of the living God (Psalm 133).
"Lowliness of mind" and "esteeming others" are supernatural products of Christ living in us (vs. 3-4). Still, our sinful flesh tenaciously resists these marvelous spiritual traits. Speaking for myself, I have no natural humility, and little natural concern for others. I'm a selfish, self-centered, pride-filled hermit. But Christ pushes us in the opposite direction (vs. 13). Self-service is not rewarding anyway. It is a deceptive depressant. Only as we step down willingly (from our imagined place of superiority, like Christ did actually from His real place of superiority) in order to serve God and man, will we find the satisfaction and fulfillment our soul craves.
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