I love opportunities to be together with family. There simply is nothing like being with the people who understand me the most. Sometimes, non-relatives can be so close that they feel like family. Since I live hours apart from some family members and states apart from others, I have spent my entire adulthood seeking community from outside my family. I am thankful for the community I have within our body of believers.

Even among the closest of families, moments of disagreement and tension are inevitable. Recently, over Labor Day weekend, I got to travel to the Texas panhandle to celebrate my Grandma’s 91st birthday. This was an incredible time of being together with forty of my closest family members. ???? 

For Grandma, one of the ways that she shows love and concern is making sure everyone has had enough to eat. Not everyone in my family receives this very well, especially after being asked at each meal, “Are you going to be able to find anything to eat?!?” For my mom, this feels like my grandmother is expressing that she sees in my mom an inability to care for herself as a self-sufficient adult. It is not remotely my grandmother’s intention to demean my mom. It simply is a reality that even among people who love and care deeply for another, there will be moments of conflict. These are opportunities for grace and mercy.

Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love,
being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or
vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not
looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. I
n your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:2-5

Because we are all created in the image of God, we should show kindness to all others within the human race. Furthermore, as beneficiaries of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are called to show Christlike love to fellow believers. In Philippians, Paul’s desire for the church was that there would be unity among them. Our oneness in Christ unifies us. 

It is not always easy to put others above ourselves. In our flesh, we naturally look out for ourselves first. In God’s Kingdom, we are called to act in ways that are in contrast to what culture or our sinful selves seek out. God calls us to put forth more effort in considering others than we do in thinking of ourselves. Praise God that His Holy Spirit enables us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” This is the example that Jesus gave us as He obediently followed the Father in coming to earth and dying on the cross. 

Jesus knew our sinful state and considered our interest as He came to earth. Through Christ’s character shining within us, we are enabled to look first to the interests of others. As He walked the earth, Jesus had the mindset of a servant. So we are called to serve one another as we show them the love of Jesus. May we be known by our love!

Love in Christ,
Adam