Philippians 2:5-11

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” vss. 5-7a

The Greek word kenosis occurs only a couple of places in the New Testament, but it appears here in verb form to describe what Christ Jesus did in becoming human. The translation reads “he emptied himself,” and Paul tells the Philippians to be imitators of him in their lives. Much has been written about what this self-emptying might require, and some even consider it to be the key to Christ-like living, maybe even the first step in spiritual growth. Sometimes people will use the phrase, “learning how to get out of my own way,” as another description of how this kenotic process might work. It begins with recognizing that each of us is created in the image of God with unique and wonderful gifts. But then as we live we discover that the world has another agenda for who we are and what we should become. In that environment it’s not unusual for the image of God in us to be distorted and almost disappear. Our kenotic task then is to peel away the layers of the image that the world has made of us, and gradually return to our true and natural selves.

Thought for the Day: What is my true self like?