I read Phillipians 2 tonight. This is what it says to me:
If you truly are a follower of Christ, and He has made a difference in your life and heart - then be agreeable with those around you, love them, connect with them on a spiritual level. Don't be selfish, always trying to have the attention on yourself. Rather be selfless, bringing praise and attention to others. Forget about what you might gain from a situation, so that you may instead be a help to others.
In trying to be Christ-like, you have to take on His characteristics. Selflessness - having a servant's heart - rather than expecting others to cater to you because you think yourself stronger, richer, wiser. Christ gave up all of the privileges of having equal ranking with God, and became human. He gave up all of the benefits that went along with that deity, and lived his life unselfishly and obedient. His ultimate gift of selflessness was when he died in obedience, at the hands of man, a cruel, prolonged death on the cross.
God rewarded that obedience by elevating Him to the highest place of honor, to be praised and worshipped by all of creation, in order to honor God.
Continue to live your life seeking Him, responding to Him, and being obedient to Him. Work even harder at it than you ever have before. Find the joy in your life, upholding Him in quiet obedience and sensitivity. That joy comes from within, from the Spirit of God, as He works through and in you to carry out His will. This is what most delights Him.
So be cheerful and willing in all that you do, without contention. Live a life of decency, honor and wholesomeness. Be the one that brings purity and goodness to this broken and corrupt world. Let all who come your way see a glimpse of the righteousness and wholeness of God in your life, so that they may see the hope that they can have in Him too.
