Descending Into Greatness

A world renowned leader has said for years, “I’ll see you at the top!” Should this be our mantra as believers? Should we strive to reach the top? How does one get there anyway? Hard work? Intellect? Connections? Money? Charisma? How does one ascend to the top? Jesus provided a glimpse of a path to greatness desired by few. His path involved: Pain, Ridicule, Lonliness, Poverty, Hatred and Death.

Paul in the second chapter of Philippians writes what is known as the earliest Christological hymn ever recorded. Paul’s verbiage is written in a style that could easily be sung and was often repeated by the early church. This scripture is known as the Kenotic Passage because of its use of the unique and rarely used word “Kenosis”. This Greek term means “self-emptying” and is used to describe the Incarnation of Jesus. This act of self-abnegation in which Jesus shed the glory He had enjoyed for all eternity was the single greatest act of humility the world has ever known. Jesus Descended Into Greatness! Wow! What a thought in our current culture where it is all about me. Jesus was not trying to find the right ladder for success. He was not trying to connect with the right individual to take Him to the top or bribe His way into a position of authority. He humbled Himself to the point of obedience and renounced His privileges of having heavenly glory, independent authority, Divine prerogatives and eternal riches for the purpose of Descending Into Greatness.

Consider the following steps that Christ undertook during the kenosis (self-emptying) and exaltation as seen in Philippians 2:

• Christ Jesus is God (2:5-6a)
• He descended to earth and because subservient to humanity (2:6b-7)
• He died a horrible death (2:8)
• He ascended to heaven and became a superior to humanity (2:9)
• Jesus Christ is acknowledged as God (2:10-11)

Questions remain as we stand at the precipice overlooking 2010:

• Are we willing to Descend into Greatness by humbly serving others?
• Are we willing to Descend into Greatness by humbly sharing Jesus with others.
• Are we willing to Descend into Greatness by humbly worshipping God in all  and for all of His glory?
• Are we willing to Descend into Greatness by humbly setting aside our privileges for the sake of the Great Commission?

True greatness always begins with humility, always involves sacrifice and always ends with Jesus. While the saying, “I will see you at the top” resonates with our fleshly desires, the typical pathway fails to follow that of Christ. I pray that 2010 will see Christ followers pursue Jesus’ example and Descend into Greatness!

You have my prayers and my thoughts as we press toward Christlikeness in 2010. May we descend together!

Happy New Year!