On Being Emptied - Philippians 2:5-8

Early in the summer, before things went completely haywire, I was reading in Philippians and verses
2:5-8 caught my attention.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, though he was in the form of God,

did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

⁷but emptied himself,

by taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

At this point, I was still not feeling well with my pregnancy. It seemed that the smallest thing caused my shoulders and neck to ache to the point of causing headaches. I was tired and often short of breath and felt that even simple garden and house projects were outside my abilities. There were limits set on what I could do, how much stress I could handle, what I could eat, and how much my mind could process.

I felt like someone had taken my body, full of strength and vigor just weeks earlier, and emptied it. So, when this passage says that Christ emptied himself, I felt I understood on a very basic and general scale what that meant, and what it felt like.

Christ emptied himself. He once was strong, and he emptied himself of that supernatural strength, and chose to become weak. He was once boundless and infinite, and chose to become limited by a physical body. In the grand scheme of the universe, he became a tiny human. He is the author of life, and yet his body was emptied of life: he humbled himself…to the point of death. Christ knows something about being limited, weak, and feeling small. And he did it all to bring us abundant life (John 10:10).

 

When I first read this, I sat there for a bit, feeling sheepish about complaining about my weaknesses and discomfort. Bringing life into this world is the ultimate fulfillment of what Christ told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God is the Creator. This is His power in me—a baby being created, formed, knit together in my womb. This is the miracle of God that I can be so weak, and yet still bring forth life.

When Christ emptied himself, he too became a human and a created being. The power of God was still in him, but it was different than what he had known before. Rather than cling to his supernatural power, he let it go so that he could redeem us and bring us back to the path to perfection. Our lives for his death. His death, so we could experience true freedom and life. It wasn’t enough to just become small, the author of life, the one through whom all things were made (John 1:3) became dead so that we could become alive.

When I reread the chapter later, I saw I had missed something. In my little NIV Bible, there is a section heading before verse 5 that separates it from verse 4. Therefore, it’s easy to miss that these two verses are linked. They go together.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

This is love. When we cling to what we have, who we are, titles, reputations, plans, or expectations so much that we cannot let them go, then we cannot truly love as God loves us because we cannot look to the interests of others. This is why Jesus commands us to Love our neighbor as ourselves. If we love others and look out for them as we love and look out for ourselves, then a lot of social problems tend to get resolved.

Jesus loved us and took an interest in his Father’s plan for us and our salvation. So much so that he gave up title and power in order that God’s best for us would be brought forth. Jesus became incarnate knowing about the pain he would experience as a human and the horrific death he would endure. But, he also knew about his coming resurrection, glorification, and coronation as King. We are never told to not care about ourselves, rather, we are to love ourselves and love others in the same fashion and be willing to sacrifice because we know that we too will be given new life and glorified in God’s Kingdom. Death is not the end.  

The starting point for loving others is loving God, and loving ourselves. As a mom, sometimes it’s hard to look to my own interests and take care of myself. There are such expectations of what women should be able to do and handle, that often self-care gets sacrificed in the midst of the demands and needs of the day. If I am in a good place physically, and in my faith, I am better able to reach out and look to the interests of others. When I am struggling, I cling to whatever I can – titles, to-do lists, accomplishments – to try and keep myself sane and feeling good. If I care more about a title or project than I do my neighbor, then I am not loving my neighbor.

Especially when pregnant. I am finding that there are times I have to let the to-do list go in order to take care of myself for the sake of the little girl growing inside me. I have to let go of the need to prove myself, to try to be equal with others or with the person I was six months ago, because that is what is in my own best interest and the best interest of my baby. Sometimes I have to cancel plans, give up projects, and forgo the caffeine because what is in my best interest and the best interest of my baby, son, and husband is not found on the to-do list. It’s humbling, and humiliating to feel this way.

The times when we feel weak are good reminders of the fact that life has a cost. Christ paid the cost for us to have eternal life, and I pay the cost of receiving a blessed child by living in weakness for nine months. It is enough to know that Christ understands my struggles with weakness and these limitations. He too was limited and weak, but out of that weakness, the atonement for our sins was accomplished and we were gifted with new life. I forget sometimes, that being a Christian isn’t just about being strong all the time. It’s also about being weak, and letting God work through us, so that His power is displayed, and so that we can learn what it means to hope for eternal life and have faith in the One who gives it to us.