“Suppose
there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king.
Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against
him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents.
And
yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden who lived in a poor
village in his kingdom. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of
way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned
her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not
resist—no one dared resist him. But would she love him?
She
would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with
him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she
be happy at his side? How could he know for sure? If he rode to her forest
cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that
too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover,
an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and
to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the
unequal can be made equal.
The
king, convinced he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom,
resolved to descend to her. Clothed as a beggar, he approached her cottage with
a worn cloak fluttering loose about him. This was not just a disguise—the king
took on a totally new identity—he had renounced his throne to declare his love
and to win hers.
5 In
your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who,
being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore
God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
Today,
the Sabbath, would be a great day for you and your family to read
Kierkegaard’s parable, then the hymn in Philippians, and ponder what it means
to you today and what it means for you as you enter your week tomorrow morning.
For
more:
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