YOU CAN BE LIKE GOD

Philippians 2:5-11
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In the movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey's character receives the power to run the universe for an entire week. And so begins the ultimate fantasy: What would it be like to play God, to possess wonder-working power in our fingertips?

Unlike Jim Carrey, we may not use our divine ability to part traffic, shoot sprays from fire hydrants, or teach our dog to use the toilet. But like Jim, we'd find that nothing could block our path to the top. We'd shock and awe our enemies into submission, humiliating them for good measure. We would dominate! And we would never be less like God.

An early Christian hymn, repeated in Philippians 2:6-11, reminds us that Jesus, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (vv.6-7).

Another version of the Bible mistranslates the word being as "although," implying that being God is a handicap to being humble. Although Jesus was God--the most powerful person in the universe--He managed to get around this obstacle and love us anyway. This couldn't be more wrong.

A stronger, more accurate translation of the Greek word here is "because." Precisely because Jesus is God, He poured Himself out on our behalf. To be God is to be humble. It is His nature to give rather than get--to set aside His own interests for the sake of others.

According to one theologian, we are so obsessed with playing the omnipotent God that we forget that the true God is humble. So when we ascend to where we think He should be, we find that He is no longer there and that we have passed Him on the way up!

We can play God. Not the impotent idol of Bruce Almighty, but the true God who powerfully condescends, who kneels with the fallen, who pours Himself dry so that others might flourish. --Michael Wittmer

DESTINATION POINTS

• What bothersome people would I most like to ignore or "put in their place"? How can I imitate God and humbly love them instead?

LINKS:

Humbler Than Thou
http://www.christianitytoday.com/moi/2004/001/feb/29.29.html

Bruce Almighty
http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/movies/devotions/050105f.html

bottom line: We are never more like God than when we stop trying to be.

soul journey