Living a Life Emptied

 

I wonder what thoughts came into your mind as you read the title?  I wonder what living means to you?

For me, in my humanity, I want to have so I can give.  I want to attain so I can help. I want to be important and have something worth giving. We humans think to live we need to be full and to give, we need to have.

And in reality, that is oh, so true, for we cannot give what we do not have.  But the key is, what are we full of and what do we have?

Philippians 2:1-8 (NASB) has a message for us and because it is so connected I'm simply going to type all the verses.  

1)If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 

2)make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3)Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;

4)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

5)Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

6)who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7)but EMPTIED Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

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.

This is a paradox, a bit radical, to live is to empty ourselves.  We find life after being emptied.

Jesus is our greatest example.  Verse 6 impacts me, He did not regard His royalty, His equality with God, a thing to be grasped.

Oh, how many times do I grasp something, I hang on, thinking I need this... to ....! (fill in the blank)

Jesus left it go, He laid it down.  He emptied Himself. Why??

He let it go for life.

He let it go, laying it down, so He could die to give us life, here and eternally.

He let it go for something greater, to make His love tangible.

Now let me clarify, He did not lose His royalty. He did not deny heaven.  He chose to lay it down, and yes, leaving heaven, to take on the form of man for a greater purpose, life!

This, my friends, brings me to my knees, causing me to bow before my Father in awe and reverence of who He is.

This one life we have to live can get quite complicated at times as we navigate living.  Satan wants nothing more than to destroy God and the life He wants to offer us. Satan will use anything, even good  to destroy God's breath of life within us and among us.

In the first verses, Apostle Paul was calling the Philippians to be united and intent on one purpose and he explains the mindset of Jesus.

Relationships get quite messy and broken a lot of the time.  Our own brokenness and distortion colours our view of what matters. 

And one of the ways to navigate living, is to start with verse five, having the attitude of Jesus.

1 - We cannot grasp on to something, even that which may be good and perfect, like royalty.

2 - We need to empty ourselves for that which matters more and most.

Jesus came to give.  Jesus emptied and was filled. 

We give what we have or are filled with.

What are you filled with?  What am I filled with? 

I'm either filled with what matters to me or more of God.

We cannot receive or be filled with God unless we first empty our hearts and hands of control, of lies and wrong beliefs, pride, bitterness, hatred, slander, etc. 

We need to let go to be able to receive what really matters.

We need to let go of revenge to find the grace of God is for me and my offender.

We need to let go so we can find God in all places.

Sometimes we may even need to let go of something that is good.

We let go of the striving, realizing that our jobs, getting it right, etc is not what defines us. Our worth comes not from getting it right, but we are defined because God pronounced His creation of us, good.

This is the season of autumn as I write this.  The leaves that were green are turning colours, the process of dying.  The leaves are good, the fruit once hung on trees is now gone. The season of summer is good.

As the trees let go of their leaves they are left bare and that is who the tree is.  Without taking care of itself, emptying itself of what is hanging on, the sap would run dry and eventually there would be nothing left to give.

The moments or times of letting go is hard, but oh, so freeing. It is a way of life and not a once and done thing. Seasons happen again and again. It's a continual leaning into Jesus, abiding in Him to find our life.  It's a remembering that life is not about us, but about God, Himself.

When we empty ourselves of ourselves and find Jesus, we find the truest form of life there is.  We find His abundant life that He so much wants to give us.  

And as we are daily filled with the truest Life we have something to give to those around us.

Humility is a fragile dance, for about the time we think we are, we make it about ourselves or am I the only one who finds myself in this dance??

It requires a daily, and sometimes moment by moment, remembering.  A remembering who I am and who God is.  It's a shift of focus towards God and remembering this is about Him and not me.  He can untangle threads and orchestrate details in ways I never could.

Humility requires me to trust God fully, again and again.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, not me! Humility is a by product of our awareness of who God is and who I am in His presence. Humility is the by product of allowing that to impact me.

Bloom, Right Where You Are

 This summer of 2023, found our family on a 4 week trip heading west. We left with much excitement and for me, it's a trip I'd do all over again. 

As it goes with travel, there is so much to see and learn about the world. To experience it firsthand is a gift I treasure. 

One of the things that stood out to me and I saw over and over again, was the life that exploded in many hard and out-of- the-way places. 

Bloom where you are planted, is a quote that has often been used and quoted. It may be a quote that inspires you but it may irritate you as well.

I don't always like where I'm planted. The soil, the circumstances aren't what I envisioned and to bloom means I need to reconcile that reality. It calls for a letting go of what I envisioned, to receive where I am and the gift of today. 

One particular walk that we did stands out to me. We had literally walked miles and the path we were on was sandy which made walking even more challenging. It was evening and I was exhausted in all ways, my legs screaming, "I'm done!"

Near the end of the trail, here were these little white flowers blooming. I stopped and took a picture of one of them. They were simply offering beauty to my weary heart and I took a moment to inhale the strength that gave. 

This flower, in this spot, is blooming alone. Pure, white, and beautiful. 

Even now as I write, it evokes tears. I remember how tired I was. I remember the exhaustion.

And I remember the vivid splendour and how encouraging this flower was. 

Blooming right where you are is a process. Not a linear one, but one of ever learning to accept today and choosing to see the gifts along our path.

Blooming is a byproduct. The mystery happens in our soul as we learn to trust our Father. He becomes the Voice that matters most to our soul and as we listen to His voice we find a space to heal, grow, and bloom.

When we release the tension and fighting of our circumstances, we find a space that is bigger than ourselves.

There were so many times I saw this. Over and over, experiencing the beauty in out-of-the-way and hard areas. Maybe it was a message that my soul needed. 

And I pass it on to you. 

It's been said many times, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% you're attitude towards it.

Bloom. Right where you are. You may never know what you offer to another weary soul. 

You're out-of-way blooming might be just for in-the-way for another weary traveler.