There’s room for you, your doubts and your busyness on the journey. Let’s walk on.
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Week 3: Knees Bent
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
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…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” – Philippians 2:5-8, 10
Okay—can we get real together?
Sometimes—actually, a lot of the time—it’s a lot easier and more appealing to only think about myself.
That does not feel great to admit, but I think it’s true for all of us, when we get really honest with ourselves. We’d rather look out for ourselves, do what we want, arrange our lives in a way that’s most convenient for ourselves.
It’s so easy for me, my family, my world and my priorities to selfishly become the centre of my world.
Not really a warm and fuzzy opening for a Christmas devotional, is it?
But, Christmas is a beautiful time to check in on how we’re doing in regard to humility and surrender. As we consider Christ’s incarnation, the ultimate act of humility and surrender, we are invited to have the same mindset as Christ. Christ, who being God, had every reason to lord that power over us, but instead chose humility, servanthood, humanity.
It is a beautiful, perfect picture that leads Paul, the writer of Philippians, to write:
“…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” – Philippians 2:10
His example of humility leads and invites us to practice humility for ourselves. We’re invited to come before the manger on bended knee, to bow to our King who came in the form of a baby.
As we move towards practicing postures of open-handedness and generosity, it’s important to first practice the posture of surrender. To recognize that all we have and all we are is not something to be used to our own advantage. Rather, we can humble ourselves with our knees bent before Lord Jesus.
This is something we see beautifully in the life of Pastor Darío and his family in Ecuador. They humbly surrendered to Christ, uprooting their comfortable lives to move to an under-resourced community nearly 2,000 kilometres away from home, to follow God’s call to plant a church and serve the children of the community.
Theirs is the kind of knees-bent surrender that inspires me as Christmas approaches.
Reflection
Get honest—in what ways are you the centre of your world in selfish ways? In what ways might God be asking you to surrender to Him in this season?
Prayer
Lord, I confess that sometimes self-centredness is the easier choice, and I make it far too often. I’m sorry. Help me to choose surrender. I want to approach your throne, which was once a humble manger, on bended knee, with the same humility that you exemplified in your incarnation. Amen.
Action
When’s the last time you actually got on your knees during prayer time? It might feel weird, maybe even a bit awkward, but try it out! See how this shift in your physical posture can help inspire and inform your spiritual posture.
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About the Postures of Advent Series:
The postures we enter the Christmas season with can make all the difference in how we experience it. In the midst of a season known for happiness, joy and light, we invite you to bring all your heart postures—the joyful ones, the hurt ones, the anticipatory ones and the anxious ones to the manger.
Through our 5-week blog series, Postures of Advent, we’ll invite you to step into what the reality of the coming of Jesus means in our messy and broken lives. We’ll walk through heart postures that inspire us to surrender to, refocus on, and embrace the grace of our King Jesus. There’s room for you, your doubts and your busyness on the journey. Let’s walk on.
Week 1: Eyes Fixed
Week 2: Head Up
Week 3: Knees Bent
Week 4: Hands Open
Week 5: Arms Wide
