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 by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
“God made the world out of nothing, and it is only when we become nothing that God can make anything of us.”
Martin Luther in Celtic Daily Prayer (New York: Harper Collins, 2002) 599.
Notice the counterintuitive way in which God works. Luther puts his finger on it.
When we follow the instructions of Paul and the example of Jesus, and humble ourselves, God will make something of us. We don’t ordinarily think that the pathway for having the greatest impact is to “become nothing” but that’s the way in God’s economy.
What would it look like for you to become nothing?