Meditation
THE COST OF CHRISTMAS Joseph Stowell
“He … Emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant.” Philippians 2:6-7
If you think Christmas is expensive, think of what it cost Jesus. He willingly gave everything up that stood in the way of His coming. Although we will never understand fully all that this tremendous sacrifice meant for Christ, we can get a glimpse of its extent in Philippians 2.
When Christ came into our world, He forfeited His privileges and rights as the God of the universe. Emptying Himself meant that He had to give up the voluntary use of many of His attributes (Philippians 2:5-11). He yielded His omnipresence to be confined in the body of a baby, and His omnipotence to endure the Cross without overpowering His enemies with ten thousand angels.
He sacrificed the “perks of paradise”: the glory, praise, and honor bestowed upon Him by the angelic hosts. He forfeited His rightful recognition as Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe—all of this, to be born in a lowly stable while the world slept unaware.
Jesus even sacrificed things that ordinary humans expect to enjoy in the course of life: the reliability of intimate friendships, being understood and accepted for who He was, having a place to lay His head and a little money in His pocket.
Ultimately, Christ paid the greatest price by surrendering His body on the cross, having the sins of humanity heaped upon Him and dying the death of a despised outcast. The bottom line is this: Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself of anything and everything that stood in the way of accomplishing His Father’s will through His life.
This poses a penetrating question for us. Rights, privileges, pleasures, possessions, expectations, relationships, and deep desires may not be inherently wrong. But are we willing to hold them loosely and let them go if emptying ourselves of them will enable us to surrender to God’s will for our lives (Romans 12:1-2)?
“Let this mind be in you …” (Philippians 2:5 KJV)