Jesus:God, Man, Servant
	What's the most  important  characteristic of a Christian?  Some might say "faith," others "love" and still others  "obedience."   But  we could say it all this way: "To be  a  Christian is to be like Christ."  We can say this because there has never been anyone more full of faith, more loving  or more obedient than Jesus of  Nazareth.   So  it would be a wonderful thing to be  like  Christ. In  fact,   we   have   this   commandment   in Philippians   2:5 - "Have   this   attitude    in yourselves which was  also  in  Christ  Jesus."
	However, before becoming like Christ,  we  have to know something about  his  character.  What can we say about his character?
To start out, we can  say  that  Jesus  is God.  We read this right  here  in  Philippians 2:6 - "who, although He existed in  the  form  of God, did not regard equality with God  a  thing to be grasped."  In  other  passages  we  learn more about the divine characteristics of Jesus.
We know that the Father is Eternal.  So is Jesus. In John  17:5  Jesus  prays,  "And  now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself,  Father, with the glory  which  I  ever  had  with  Thee before the world was."  The Father is  the Creator.  So is Jesus.  John 1:2-3 states,  "He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through  Him,  and  apart  from  Him nothing came into  being  that  has  come  into being."    The  Father  calls  Himself "I AM" (Exodus 3:14).  Jesus applies the same name  to Himself in John 8:58.  And the divine nature of Jesus is clearly stated in  Jn. 1:1,  "In  the beginning was the Word, and the Word  was  with God, and the Word was God."
So, to be like Christ is to be  like  God. But that's not easy and most of us  don't  feel comfortable with that.  Also, none of us  likes to  be   around   someone   with   a   haughty, "holier-than-thou" attitude.  So let's read  on to  Philippians  2  verse  7,  "but   emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant,  and being made in the likeness of men."
Here we find that, although Christ is God, he choses to come to the earth as a man.
	He is born just  like  we  are.
	"And it came about that while they were there," we read in Luke 2:6,7, "the days were completed for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." 
	He is hungry just like we are.
	"And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights," Matthew 4:2 records, "He then became hungry." 
	He  becomes  sleepy  just  like  we   do.
	"And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea," Matthew 8:24 states, "so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep."
Maybe it's  a  little  easier  to  picture ourselves as being like Jesus  in  this  sense. But let's read  on  in  Philippians  2:8,  "And being found in appearance as a man, He  humbled Himself by becoming obedient to  the  point  of death, even death on a cross."  
We  must  point out that Jesus is  no  longer  at  this  level. Philippians  2:9-11  tells  us  that  God   has returned Him to the position He deserves.   But the point for us is that  Jesus  choses  to  put himself at this level.   Therefore,  we  should seek to put ourselves at this same level.   And this isn't easy.  In fact, this may be the most difficult thing for us  to  do.   But  we  must succeed, because this is  a  fundamental  point for a Christian.
Matthew 20:25-28 records Jesus'  statement that He has come to serve, not to be served.
	"But Jesus called them to Himself," we read in these verses, "and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and {their} great men exercise authority over them.  It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. " 
Mark 9:33-37,  and  especially  verse  35, explains that any one who wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.
	"And they came to Capernaum;" Mark reports, "and when He was in the house, He {began} to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?'  But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which {of them was} the greatest.  And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.'  And taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.'" 
John 13:12-15 records  when  Jesus  washes his apostles' feet.  "You call me Teacher,  and Lord;" He tells them, "and you are right, for so I am.  If I then, the  Lord  and  the  Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought  to  wash  one another's feet.  For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you."
Romans 12:9-21 teaches  us  about  a  love that  causes  us  to  give  preference  to  one another in honor, that causes us to be  of  the same mind toward one another and that keeps  us from being haughty in mind or wise in  our  own estimation.
	Romans  15:1-3  tells  us  to   bear   the weaknesses of others, and to  each  please  his neighbor for his own good, to his edification.
	"Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not {just} please ourselves," Paul encourages.  "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.  For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ' The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me.'" 
1 Corinthians l0:23-24 says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let  no  one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor."
	1  Corinthians   13,   the   classic   New Testament passage on  love,  states  in  verses 4-7, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous;  love  does  not  brag  and   is   not arrogant, does not act  unbecomingly;  it  does not seek its own, is  not  provoked,  does  not take into account a wrong  suffered,  does  not rejoice in unrighteousness, but  rejoices  with the  truth;  bears  all  things,  believes  all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
Philippians 2:1-4, the verses  immediately preceding the ones we  have  been  looking  at, urges us to, "Do  nothing  from  selfishness  or empty conceit, but with humility  of  mind  let each  of  you  regard  one  another   as   more important than himself; do not merely look  out for your own personal interests, but  also  the interests of others."
I Peter 5:5 notes that, "God is  opposed  to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Do  you  get  the  impression  from   this sampling of passages that the  subject  we  are discussing is important?

It is important that we be like Christ.  But it's not enough just  to know we're supposed to do something.  We need to know  how to make it work in our lives.
Here are three suggestions of what we  can do to develop this attitude.
	First, we must be  slow  to  speak  (James 1:19; 3:2-12).  
This means we should be slow to blame or offer excuses.  How often we "pass the buck," blaming others because we don' t want  to be accused of something.  For example  husbands blame their wives when the family is late.   "I was ready to walk out the  door,  but  she  was still putting on her makeup," they are quick to say.  "I was ready," the  mother  offers,"  but the children didn't have  their  hair  combed." "We were ready," the children  claim,  "but  we had to take care of the dog."   Why  do  we  do this?  It's because no one wants to put himself in what he considers a "low" position, even  if it means placing others, including  family,  in that  position.   How  much  do  we  love   our families?  How much do we love  our  neighbors? Do we love them enough to serve them; to  serve them to the point of accepting  the  blame  for something ESPECIALLY when they are guilty?
Another thing we must learn if we want  to serve others is to  be  slow  to  judge  (James 5:9-11; Matthew 7:1-2).  
Why are we so eager to judge other people?  It's because, by  lowering them, we automatically raise  ourselves.   It's almost as though we were sitting in two  ends  of  a set of scales or on a teeter-totter.   If  they go down, we go up.  But  a  serving  person  is slow to judge.
And, finally, we should be quick  to  pray (Matthew 21:22).  
It's hard  to  fight  against everything we've been taught, but God will help us if we really want Him to.  There is one word of caution, however.  To ask to be a servant is to ask to be humble.  The action of going  from a haughty position to a humble  one  is  called "humiliation."   Don't  be  like  the  man  who prayed to have more time to devote to  God  and to his  family.   He  came  home  to  find  his television scattered all over the  front  lawn, and he started to curse God for letting such  a terrible thing happen to him.
Is it worth it?  It would  we  helpful  to read all  of  the  "Sermon  on  the  Mount"  in Matthew chapters 5-7.   But  for  now  we'll  read  only verses 3-9 of chapter five.
"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those  who  mourn,  for  they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the gentile, for  they  shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger  and  thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they  shall receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,  for  they shall see God.
"Blessed are  the  peacemakers,  for  they shall be called sons of God."
Actually, we do not  have  the  choice  to serve or not.  We are already either slaves  of righteous or slaves of  sin  (Romans  6:16-23). 
But we do have  the  choice  of  selecting  our master.  Do you want to be  free?   Then  serve others.  And, most of all, submit  yourself  to the Truth, the Truth that makes you free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."