Templates for daily Use ...

Friday, Nov 15, 2013. What are the templates we use day by day to shape our decisions? Today we want to have a look at a passage from Philippians, which gives us a fantastic pattern for our behaviour, for our thoughts, our heart, and for our mind!

Be like Christ! …

We are asked to become more and more like Christ Jesus. Paul writes about him:

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any

comfort from love

, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so 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. We have clear guidelines … **

We do have clear guidelines, when we start to get to know the Lord. Our guidelines is Christ himself. He is the template of men. He is the template of behaviour which is good. He is fantastic.

Indeed, there are not many figures in world history, which have influenced people like Jesus did. I see the reason in his fantastic life, which is beyond anything we could hope for on this planet. He is, indeed, full of wit, full of compassion, full of truth and clarity. And he cares for people. His whole life was dedicated to caring. He did it with a majesty and honour which is unparalleled. The king who serves.

We are called not to take other templates than him. We are called to him, such that he may be everything to us. That is his role, since he is God himself, who became human and lived among us. He will transform our life, day by day, when we live with him! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts