The Mind of Christ – Love in the Wilderness
A gentle reflection on Philippians 2:5-11 on humility and self-giving care
Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Philippians 2:5–11
Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
Reflection
Paul invites us into a startling mindset: “Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus…” This is surrender at its deepest: not forced, but chosen. Jesus releases privilege, status, and visible glory to enter our frailty. He does not stop being God; He reveals what God is truly like—a self-giving, self-emptying love.
Because of this surrender, God exalts Him, giving Him the name above every name. The path down becomes the path up. Humility is not a detour around glory; it is the road to it.
When Paul tells us to share this mind, he is not asking us to manufacture humility by sheer effort. He is inviting us to let the story of Jesus shape our instincts: to look not only to our own interests, but to the interests of others; to take the lower place; to serve rather than grasp.
Love in the wilderness forms this “mind of Christ” in us slowly, through daily choices to descend rather than push upward.
A Prayer of Presence
Jesus,
You did not cling to Your rights, but emptied Yourself in love. Shape my mind and heart after Yours. Teach me the joy of choosing the lower way and trusting the Father to lift me in His time. – Amen
Practice for Today
Look for one opportunity to “take the lower place”—letting someone else go first, listening instead of asserting, serving in an unnoticed way. As you do, quietly repeat: “This is the mind of Christ.”
Consider This...
What situations most tempt me to grasp for status, recognition, or control—and how might the downward way of Jesus change my response?
Carry This Prayer With You
Breathe in: I humble myself…
Breathe out: … and choose obedience to You
This work is freely shared. If it nourishes your life with God, you’re welcome to help sustain it.