A Community of Love
Read: Philippians 2:1-13
In this beautiful passage, Paul calls us to live with one another with the kind of selfless love that is reflective of Christ. On the basis of our standing in Christ and participation in the life of the Holy Spirit, we are called to serve one another in humility and love. We’re to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Jesus, by rights, could have held onto His heavenly glory, but instead emptied Himself and made Himself nothing, becoming a servant of all, even laying down His life on the cross in loving self-giving for us. Because of His humility, He has been exalted on high. We are called to follow Him—to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and humbly serve one another as we follow Him. This is what it means to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God is at work in us cultivating this life of self-giving love. He is the one who enlivens our will to love, and He is the one who empowers our works of love. God is making us like Himself, the people of love we were always meant to be. He’s restoring the image of God in us. He’s once again loving us into loveliness.
How do we walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us (Ephesians 5:2)? We serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). We look to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). In humility, we consider others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). We grow in love through service.
Jesus is inviting you on the journey of a lifetime. It’s an invitation to know God through worship, feed your soul through community, and to grow in love through service. We grow in love by giving ourselves away in the service of others. That’s why there are so many opportunities to serve every week at The Moody Church. Those serving opportunities are not busy work or simply volunteer tasks, they are training opportunities to become a person of love like Jesus. We grow in love as we give ourselves away in service of those around us. Service is the forge in which God transforms us into people of love.
Your Journey Reflection Questions:
Who has modeled loving service to you?
What happens in your own heart when you serve others?
How does service grow us into people of love?
In light of what you’ve learned today, what is your next step?
As I learned today,it can be very transforming. Even though it cost me a lot of physical pain helping to clean up the yard for my dad from the hurricane, it was very humbling. I had wrestled with going outside. I just did not want to do it. But I prayed for the filling of the Holy Spirit and he laid it on my heart to go.