Getting Ready to Serve = "Get Down"

Lavishly our lives are wasted
Humbleness is left untasted
You can't live your life to please yourself , yeah

That's a tip from my mistakes
Exactly what it doesn't take
To win you've got to come in last place
To live your life you've got to lose it

And all the losers get a crown

CHORUS:
I get down and He lifts me up
I get down and He lifts me up
I get down and He lifts me up
I get down

I've always enjoyed this song by Audio Adrenaline. It's an oldy but goody in my book, and not just because of the upbeat tempo. The words have always held real meaning for me. To me it's been a very necessary reminder in this world where "humbleness is left untasted". While to "get down" at least a decade ago referred to "dancing in a very 'hip' way", Audio Adrenaline used this play on words to liken "getting down" or humbling ourselves to a very hip action.

This may seem very strange indeed... that making less of ourselves could be 'cool.' The 'cool crowd' in school and the 'prestigious' in society aren't the ones who humble themselves... but that's exactly what Jesus did. That's the example Jesus gave us. Our counter-cultural Christian cool does indeed require us to 'get down'... instead of living our lives to please ourselves and live our lives to serve others... so that God can lift us up.

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming 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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. ~ Phillipians 2:1-11

We are called in this passage to be like-minded, to be imitators of Christ. Phillipians 2:3 is the verse that Brad and I chose as a guiding scripture for our marriage, and I am still glad that this is the verse we chose. As many like to say, 'marriage is not a 50-50 deal.' You give you choose to serve and love and serve with your whole self, valuing the other as more important than yourself. Who was a better example of this than Christ who gave His life for us? That is why we are called to be imitators of Christ... in terms of His service, obedience and unity to God.

Servant

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

When Christ came to the earth, what he deserved was fine robes, a palace, the best clothes, a life of luxury. He is Lord! But He took nothing that He 'deserved.' Instead, He was born in a stable, lived the life of a simple carpenter, went around healing and preaching to others. So many of the stories of Jesus' life involve Him serving others.

I think of how often I say, "It's not fair!" We very often feel that we are entitled to certain things. And usually, most often it's about wanting more. We should get a higher grade, a better job, a better salary, more vacation, etc. In fact, just last night I was reciting "It's not fair!" about the fact that I need to pay for a new visa to Brazil in addition to a new passport, because I changed my name.

But sometimes I find it helpful to think of all that Jesus deserved that He didn't get. He and his family were refugees. He lived with very little. He was born in a stable. He was disrespected and hated. He had every right to say, "It's not fair!" But let's think about what Jesus said instead... "Blessed are the poor in spirit.... Go, you are healed....In my Father's house, there are many rooms." Instead of worrying about what He deserved and didn't get, Jesus spent His days serving others.

Obedient

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

While serving others, Christ was also obedient... following where Christ led Him to go. It certainly wasn't easy... and that is reflected in the scriptures. We see Him calling out, "Lord, take this bitter cup from me." His whole life was one of humility. Jesus took on human form and lived a humble, simple life. He was obedient in whatever God decided for His life... even facing the cross. He knew what was coming, but He also knew that it was God's will.

Sometimes it's hard for me to be obedient to Christ's call... but mostly because I don't 'hear' it. But sometimes I wonder if that is a fair representation of things. If I clutter my life with so many things that I have no 'time' to spend hours praying and listening and opening myself to hear God. Perhaps my 'disobedience' in not opening myself up to wait and listen to the Lord stops me from being more obedient with other aspects of my life. We know it is said "whoever is faithful with little will be faithful with much." And for me, it is just that.

One of the things that I loved about worshipping with the Quakers was their appreciation for silence and listening. So often we feel a need to fill every silence. Even in our quiet times, we read, we pray, we type ;o), but do we listen? How can we expect to be obedient is we do not take the time to be still... and listen.. If we did this, I feel we would have the same reaction as Jacob in the story of Jacob's ladder: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” (Genesis 28:16)

Unity with God

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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

In the scripture, we know that Christ was exalted for His humility and obedience to God. While we cannot (should not) expect to be exalted, we should expect is unity with God. We, being actual humans (not just human in form), will err. We will at times feel proud and act disobediently. While not capable of the perfection of Christ, we can become new. When we ask Christ into our hearts, He has the power to change our lives... to change our marriage, to change our friendships, to change our whole selves. The Holy Spirit will guide and change us and work in our lives.

And then, we will be able to live "in the highest place"! We will be a part of the Kingdom of God! We are welcomed into the family of God.

I'll end this morning with lyrics of another song... that may encourage us as we pray to God this morning, asking Him to grant us the hearts of servants and minds that are obedient to His will only...

Now I won’t deny the worst you could say about me
But I’m not defined by mistakes that I’ve made because God says of me

I am not who I was, I am being remade, I am new
I am chosen and holy and I’m dearly loved, I am new, I am new

Who I thought I was and who I thought I had to be
I had to give them both up cause neither were willing to ever believe

Too long I have lived in the shadows of shame
Believing that there was no way I could change
But the one who is making everything new doesn’t see me the way that I do
He doesn’t see me the way that I do

I am not who I was, I am being remade, I am new
Dead to the old man, I’m coming alive, I am new, I am new

Forgiven beloved, hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous and holy, reborn and remade
Accepted and worthy, this is our new name
This is who we are now

The Meaning of Discipleship: Loving & Leaving

The Bible Study at our home has been going through Song of Songs, and it has struck me that although not commonly thought of as such, it is a book on discipleship. I know this may sound kind of far-fetched, but stick with me on this one. It has commonly been seen as an allegory representing Jesus and the church, His bride. Perhaps in this way, we can learn, as the 80's song says, "what's love got to do with it?" "It" being discipleship.

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ~Luke 14:25-27

Now this passage is often referred to as a classic depiction of discipleship. We must surrender all to follow Christ, even our family, even our own life. Yet, it interestingly enough bares a resemblance to the following verse from Genesis on the relationship between man and woman.

²³ The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. ~Genesis 2:23-24

Many are familiar with this verse as "leaving and cleaving", at least that's how it was referred to in my premarital counseling book. And while I thought it made sense and wouldn't be so hard for us as we live so far away, it turned out to be far more important than I had imagined. Before getting married, Brad and I had made few decisions together, but one that we had made involved our name changes. We decided to both take 2 names. When a week after our wedding, Brad was changing his mind, due mostly to his parents' disapproval, I felt that he was not leaving or cleaving. Even though we were miles away from his parents, I felt that he did not recognize that we were married... that we needed to cleave to each other and our decisions. Now, I bring this up not to bring up hurt feelings. In fact, I feel glad that we have grown in our relationship and especially in terms of leaving and cleaving to one another. But I bring it up, because I see in this instance a powerful portrayal of what we too often due to our Savior, our groom.

As Christians, we pledge to be Jesus' bride. We give ourselves over to unite with Him, loving Him so much more than "father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters" that it could seem we hate them at times. (We may do something of which they greatly disapprove in order to faithfully follow Christ.) I now know firsthand the very deep hurt caused when feeling that your love is cleaving to others before you. But this serves me to understand the hurt and sorrow we must cause our groom (Christ) when we fail to follow Him and place Him before all other things in our hearts, our homes, our lives, our every day.

Now, you might be asking, how does this relate to Song of Songs? In the literal sense, there are many points when the young woman is seeking her groom.

All night long on my bed

I looked for the one my heart loves;

I looked for him but did not find him.

I will get up now and go about the city,

through its streets and squares;

I will search for the one my heart loves.

So I looked for him and did not find him. ~Song of Songs 3:1-2

This kind of refrain is repeated several times until the 6th chapter where her friends ask her if she knows where her lover is, and she responds confidently that she knows.

Friends

Where has your lover gone,

most beautiful of women?

Which way did your lover turn

that we may look for him with you?

Beloved

My lover has gone down to his garden,

to the beds of spices,

to browse in the gardens

and to gather lilies.

I am my lover's and my lover is mine;

he browses among the lilies." ~Song of Songs 6:1-2

In the allegorical sense we may see Song of Songs as more of an inner spiritual journey. Though our groom (Christ) searches for us and proclaims His love for us in so many ways (blessings, miracles, gifts, family, guidance), oftentimes we 'seek' for him with only a part of our heart. We may feel distressed... where is my God? Where is He? We feel as if we are looking, but we are worried about other things in our life; we do not wholly give ourselves over to Christ. Only when we leave our own lives and cleave to Christ only can we feel the abundant love and joy in our unity with Him. We might rephrase Song of Songs verse 2, "I am my Lord's and my Lord is mine" based on our allegorical understanding of the text. Yet, the beauty of an allegory is that it strengthens both images... both the beauty and love which comes from a strong commitment between husband and wife as well as the beauty of the love which comes from a strong commitment between Christ and ourselves.

We never really think about a baptism as a marriage ceremony. But in a way, it bears a resemblance. When we accept Christ into our hearts, we fully commit our lives to Christ and Christ alone.