Read Philippians Chapter Two

“You must give some time to your fellow men.  Even if it is a little thing, do something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”    Albert Schweitzer

When I was a little boy, I wanted to be just like my Dad. I watched the way he dealt with people, the way he played sports, and especially the way he preached. Something inside of me swayed my idea of who I was by who my father was. When I grew a little older, I realized that, as good as my father was, I needed to find my own place in this world, and more importantly, in God’s Kingdom. I began to look at what God desired for my life, and began to question and search for the example of my heavenly Father. It took me to Philippians chapter two. When Jesus was born, he wasn’t born to royalty, although he deserved to be. When he was a young boy, he did not have servants waiting on him, although all of heaven was at his beckoned call. When he was a young man, he built furniture with his adopted father, Joseph, with the wood that he created. When his ministry began, he chose some fishermen, tax collectors and zealots for his companions. These men were hardly the ones that most others would have chosen, but Jesus saw something different in them. That brings us to Philippians 2 where we see the man with all of heaven and earth at his disposal become a servant to you and I so that we one day would be able to reign with him. Notice that he did not pick-and-choose whom he would serve, he served all mankind. It is very easy to serve people that we deem worthy of servitude, but it is entirely Christ-like to serve all. When I realized that Jesus was calling me to serve, I began to focus my life choices to attempt to fulfill that call. The call to serve is not only to the preacher or the teacher, but it is a call for all that want to call Jesus their heavenly Father. If you want to be like Christ, you must begin to do the things that Christ did. Are you willing to serve the neighbor that constantly has music blaring from his home? Would you serve that family that never cleans their yard? Would you be willing to serve your employee? Your spouse? Your children? Would you be willing to serve that friend that slapped you in the face, talked about you behind your back and betrayed you to others? If not, you have not yet achieved the goal of being like your daddy. The good news is that we have something to aim for. Each family can make the decision this week to try harder, and not only try, but also in the mindset of the Spirit, become more like Christ.