You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5–11 NLT)
God is sovereign. Of that, we should have no doubts. After all, he is the Creator of all that is, and all that has been and will be. He set the world in motion and continues to sustain it. He is in charge of everything.
Yet this sovereignty of God’s doesn’t mean he’s set everything on a dedicated path without any kind of variance. Unlike a train that can only travel through a pre-established track, God, out of his love for us, allows us the free will to make our own decisions. Therein lies the tension: God’s sovereignty and his love for us results in a unique kind of vulnerability.
God loves us, without reservation, hesitation, or limit. Yet he also knows we are our own worst enemies. We don’t always choose what is good, righteous, holy, or loving, and he will not puppeteer us into making those decisions. Instead, he nudges us to seek his Kingdom in all things; he prods us to be people of peace, sowing the seeds of the Gospel in word and deed; and he encourages us to choose selflessness over selfishness and love over hate and indifference.
This results in a gap between what God desires for us and what we choose for ourselves, a gap that results in pain for us, and pain for God. While our pain is the spiritual, emotional, relational, and physical result of sin in our lives, God’s pain is the vulnerability of a parent who loves their child and wants what’s best for them in all things.
When God became man in the person of Jesus, he took an even greater step of vulnerability. Rather than continuing to love us from a distance, with a separation between humanity and the divine, he became human so he might love us up close. To show us just how deep, wide, and long his love for us truly is, God became even more vulnerable. For the first time, he knew physical pain, what it was like to prick a finger on a thorn or stub a toe on a table leg. “He,” as Paul writes, “gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”
Through Jesus, God taught us how to love up close.
Are we willing to follow his example by choosing to be more vulnerable so we might be the embodiment of God’s love in the lives of others? Are we willing to give up whatever privileges we have so we might become humble slaves of the Most High?
Michael Benson is the communications director for the North American Baptist Conference.