Pastor Tricia's Ramblings

At my last church, we honored our volunteers every year with an appreciation celebration. The goal was simple: we wanted them to relax, hang out, and have fun. We decorated, prepared food, and told them, “Tonight is about you. Just come and enjoy yourselves.”

But without fail, guess what happened? They would jump in and serve. They’d start setting up chairs, carrying trays of food, cleaning up spills, and staying late to tear down. Some even volunteered to bring desserts or side dishes—at their own appreciation night! You couldn’t stop them. Why? Because they had servant hearts. They had the heart of Jesus.

I’ll never forget watching them. They weren’t serving because they had to. They weren’t doing it out of obligation. They served because it was who they were. They loved Jesus, and His love had shaped their hearts. They couldn’t help but live out what He had done for them.

And that right there is the heart of Philippians 2:6–11.

Jesus Laid It All Down

Paul writes:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6–8, NIV)

That passage takes my breath away every time I read it.

Think about this: Jesus literally had everything. He had every right to stay in heaven, enjoying the worship of angels and the glory that His very nature demanded. He lacked nothing. He owed nothing. He was God—eternal, holy, exalted.

But instead of holding onto His rights, He laid them down. He emptied Himself. He chose to step into our broken, messy, ordinary world.

He essentially said:
“All I am owed—all the glory, all the honor, all the power—I lay it down. I give it all for you.”

Out of love for us, Jesus came as a baby, the most dependent of all human beings. The King of Kings entrusted Himself to a teenage girl and her carpenter fiancé. The One who spoke galaxies into existence now cried in the night for milk and comfort.

Wow.

That’s not weakness. That’s love. That’s humility. That’s our Savior.

The Servant Heart of Jesus

When you look at the life of Jesus, everything about Him was marked by service.

He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He touched lepers no one else would go near. He welcomed children when others tried to push them away. He washed His disciples’ feet, taking the posture of a servant on the night before He was betrayed (John 13:3–5).

And ultimately, He died for us. Not just any death—the death of a criminal, the death reserved for traitors. Crucifixion was Rome’s most humiliating and painful form of execution. It was public, shameful, and cruel. And yet Jesus endured it willingly.

Why? Because that’s what love does.

Romans 15:3 tells us, “For even Christ did not please himself…” He didn’t come to earth to live for His own comfort or to protect His own rights. He came to give His life away.

Servant Hearts Change Everything

When we really grasp this, when we understand the depth of what Jesus has done for us, it changes how we live.

Suddenly, life is not about us anymore. It’s not about our comfort, our preferences, or even our rights. It’s about loving Jesus and letting His love flow through us to others.

That’s why those volunteers at our church couldn’t just sit back and be served. Their hearts had been shaped by Jesus. His humility had rubbed off on them. His servant heart had become their servant heart.

And the same thing happens to us. When we love Jesus—not just with lip service on a Sunday morning, but really love Him—His Spirit begins to transform us from the inside out. We start seeing people the way He sees them. We start serving, not because someone told us to, but because we can’t help ourselves.

Love compels us.

Humility in Action

Paul introduces this whole section of Philippians 2 by saying, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

That means humility isn’t just a nice idea—it’s the pattern for our lives.

Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of ourselves. It doesn’t mean becoming a doormat. It means willingly setting aside our rights for the sake of love. It means using whatever strength, position, or resources God has given us to serve others instead of serving ourselves.

And when we do that, we reflect Jesus. We shine His light in a world that is obsessed with status, achievement, and recognition.

The Glory of the Cross

But the story doesn’t end with Jesus’ humility.

Paul continues:

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11)

Jesus humbled Himself, but the Father lifted Him up. He went down to the lowest place, and God raised Him to the highest place.

And one day, everyone will recognize it. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Kings, presidents, billionaires, ordinary people—every single one of us will acknowledge Him.

But here’s the beautiful truth: we don’t have to wait for that day. We can bow now. We can confess now. We can choose to follow the way of Jesus now.

And when we do, our lives become a living testimony of His love.

What This Looks Like Today

So what does all this mean for us? What does it look like to live with the mindset of Christ?

• It looks like showing up for the people around us, even when we’re tired.
• It looks like putting down our phones and really listening to someone who needs to be heard.
• It looks like serving in the church—not because we’re looking for recognition, but because we want to love like Jesus.
• It looks like forgiving someone who hurt us, because Jesus forgave us.
• It looks like choosing humility over pride, kindness over harshness, generosity over selfishness.

These aren’t small things. They’re the everyday ways we put the heart of Jesus on display.

A Call to Love

Jesus’ whole life was one long act of love. From His birth in a manger to His death on a cross, everything He did pointed us back to the Father’s heart.

And now, He invites us to follow Him. Not just with words, but with our lives.

To love Him is to love others. To serve Him is to serve others. To honor Him is to lay down our rights, our pride, our self-centeredness, and take up the towel and basin like He did.

Because living like Jesus means serving like Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for humbling Yourself, for leaving the glory of heaven to come and serve us. Thank You for the cross, where You gave everything for our sake. Shape our hearts to look more like Yours. Teach us to live in humility, to love deeply, and to serve others with joy. May our lives point people back to You, so that one day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses, many will do so with joy because they saw You in us. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. Where is God calling you to serve right now?
   Maybe it’s in your church, maybe in your workplace, maybe in your own home. What would it look like to step in with the heart of Jesus?
2. What “rights” do you need to lay down in order to love others more fully?
   Are there areas where you’ve been clinging to recognition, comfort, or control that Jesus is inviting you to release?
3. Who has shown you the heart of Jesus through their service?
   Take a moment to thank God for them—and maybe even tell them how their example has shaped you.
4. How does remembering Jesus’ humility at the cross change the way you see your daily choices?
   Think about the small, ordinary moments. Where could humility transform the way you live?
5. What is one step you can take this week to serve like Jesus?
   Don’t overcomplicate it. Start small, start simple, but start.