An attitude that is like Christ’s attitude

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” — Philippians 2:1-5

I love this passage of scripture. The Apostle Paul shares with us here how to love community. When he says “one another” he means community or neighbor. We love community by living what we have received from the Lord.

Every time our church partakes in the Lord’s Supper together, I say these words from the Apostle Paul, “What I received from the Lord I also pass on to you.” So we must identify what we have received from Jesus so we know what to pass on to to others. Paul gives us the list in Philippians 2.

The chapter starts out, “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?” You betcha there is! Where do I even begin! I have received a promise of the love of Jesus who brought me out of my sin and shame. I have been redeemed. My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices because I am not who I used to be. I am encouraged because Jesus Christ is at the center of my life.

“Any comfort from his love?” Oh yes! Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Did you see that? While we were still sinners, Christ Jesus loved us enough to die for us. There is no greater love has no one but this, than he whom lays down his life for his friends.

“Any Fellowship in the Spirit?” 1 John 1:5-7 says, “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So, we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

We have fellowship with the Spirit. He never leaves us.

We love one another by being compassionate with tender hearts towards one another. We are to be selfless and humble. Not trying to impress others, but rather thinking of the needs of others above our own. Over the past few weeks we have been studying the counterculture message of the Gospel. The message of Jesus is just the opposite from what the world teaches. We see it here again in Philippians 2. It is here where we get ahead by gratefulness and humility instead of looking out only for our own interests.

May we create habits of giving thanks unto the Lord. For he is so worthy of all our praise. May we develop attitudes that are one with Christ. Have a great week.

Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren. He is married to Heidi and they have two daughters, Hannah, and Abigail. They live in Van Buren.