Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head,
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The circumstances of Jesus’ birth were less than ideal. He took his first breath in a smelly stable, an inglorious entrance for the Savior of the world.
God rarely does what worldly wisdom would suggest as the best course of action, and the nativity story certainly is no exception.
Christ set aside His sovereign position and divine privileges and clothed Himself in humanity because of love. He chose to enter the world empty and submit to poverty, reproach, and suffering all because He loves you and me.
Jesus rejected prestige and power to live a life of
- Selflessness
Christ willingly humbled Himself to lift us up.
- Sacrifice
He surrendered His rights and laid down His life to pay for our sins.
- Service
Jesus set aside His personal comfort out of concern for the brokenness of mankind.
The Apostle Paul challenged the early church: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (vs.5, NIV).
This Advent let’s enter into that smelly stable and kneel at the feet of the Savior who had no crib for His bed. The best gift we can offer Him this year is to submit to one another out of reverence for His sacrifice (Ephesians 5:21).
How would the atmosphere in our homes and churches change if we chose to imitate Christ and adopt the attitude of a humble servant?
What if we extended more grace instead of always demanding our way?
Instead of focusing on ourselves this Christmas, let’s clothe our hearts with Christlikeness:
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you (I Peter 5:5-8).
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:12-14).
Christ set aside His glory and gave Himself away to set captives free. The world is watching to see if we will follow His example of selflessness, sacrifice, and service.
Keeping the Faith,
Lyli
What a privilege it is to have Lyli Dunbar (LGG Mentor & Encourager Teams) on the blog today! Lyli enjoys road trips with her husband, connecting with women through Bible study, and reading way too many books. She shares how everyday experiences help flesh out her faith at 3-D Lessons for Life. A disciple, wife, educator, and mentor, Lyli is just a girl working to keep the faith day by day.
________________________________________________
Just now joining us? Journal along with us as we dive into God’s Word together this Advent season! Grab your God With Us study journal on Amazon!
What a wonderful way to meet Jesus in the manger. and yes, I need to be so much more intentional about selflessness, sacrifice, and service. This touched my heart this morning Lyli, such a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing!!
I’m so glad that this encouraged you on your journey, Deanna. I’ve observed all 3 of these qualities in your life as we’ve interacted online and am so thankful for your friendship. Hugs
I have loved the blogs this week! Lyli thank you for sharing with us through the blog today, it touched my heart. Im so thankful for this study and the way it makes me look at my actions and see if I’m living with the attitude of Christ! I’ve never thought about Jesus leaving his home in heaven to live on our earth, and it changes so much for me. I’m blessed to be a part of these studies that guide me and draw me closer to the Lord, and love that the mission of LGG is to give this opportunity to all!
I agree, Mondee. I am thinking about Christ’s coming in a whole new way. This Scripture in Philippians really grabbed my heart in particular. Christ’s life exemplifies sacrifice from day 1, and I am called to live unselfishly. It’s not a normal “Christmas message,”but one that I needed to hear this year.
I’d love to know how this selflessness, humbleness, servants heart, giving grace, surrendered rights, etc looks like in a family setting. When I show grace to the kids, I get taken advantage of and am considered “soft”. I’m looked at with less respect and honor and my children lack obedience. My husband comes onto the scene, authoritatively, and my kids listen to/obey him right away. It’s almost like I can’t be nice to the kids cuz they’ll walk all over me. The only thing that seems to get them to obey is being demanding and well, harsh. We have 7 children and it’s super hard for me to demand obedience from each of them all the time. I’m outnumbered and I can’t see everything that goes on. And I’m not a mean person by nature. It’s hard for me to be demanding and like I said, harsh. And I HATE yelling and spanking. Could seriously use a bit of help in the parenting dept. How can I show grace and selflessness and a servants heart to my kids without them walking all over me and seeing what they can get away with? How can I demand obedience without being mean?
Melissa, just wanted you to know that I am praying for you. You are in a busy and sometimes frustrating time of life but ultimately the rewards of seeing your children grow up and serve God is amazing! Don’t think of your discipline as harshness–think of it as shaping your children. Decide ahead of time where the boundaries are and what action of discipline needs to be taken when boundaries are crossed. Let the kids know those boundaries and the consequences. Then crossing the line becomes their choice. Take advantage of the times when there is harmony in your home and really compliment the kids for that. Set goals for what you want your kids to be like when they are 18 and prioritize things in your family life that will promote these characteristics. If you can, bring outside silts such as family and friends into your lives to help you with gidly advice. I know that these things are so easy to write and so much harder to put into practice. As a mom who is on the other side of raising 5 kids, please understand that you will not be perfect. But God has given you the opportunity to raise leaders for a future generation! Trust Him and stay in His Word! He will give you strength and wisdom!
Melissa,
I wish I could jump through this computer and come give you a big hug. Parenting is not for cowards. — I can’t walk in your shoes with 7 kiddos, but I did work with teenagers in the classroom for 17 years, I know how hard it is to keep it together when they are pushing all your buttons. I am glad God gives us a do-over every morning. We are going to mess up some days, but we can start fresh with His help. — It’s definitely something to pray about — that God would give us wisdom and grace in those moments when we want to pop a cork. — And sometimes you just have to take a mama “time out” and step away to pray and get some perspective before you respond. Much love to you, brave mama. God sees you in the trenches, and He is with you.
Lyli
Love how you mentioned the verses in 1 Peter 5:5-8, such a very good description of how we need to humble ourselves, good to apply in our everyday living.
It comforts me to know that Peter wrote those verses. He is such an example of a person who transformed from glory hog to giving servant.
My prayer today is to be free in my heart and mind of self aggrandizement, any thoughts that would keep me from being humble and anything that would prevent me from having the Servant’s heart. I want to be more like Him.
Yes, to be more like Him! Having a servant heart and mind takes work. Often I must start again when I fail at it. But each try brings me closer to being Christ-like.
Beautiful prayer, Melissa. It’s a daily battle for me.
Less of me, more of you, Jesus. Amen
I’m so blessed to be leading this study! I’m finding so much more depth in every verse I read, so much more love, so much more about selflessness, sacrifice and servanthood. More importantly, I’m learning that I have so much more growing in my faith walk to do towards being Christ like.
He’s still working on me, right? We aren’t the women we once were, but there is still work to be done in our hearts. I am so thankful for the gift of God’s Word that challenges us to get over ourselves and get out there and serve. It’s not a “Ho- Ho- Ho- Christmas message,” but it’s a needed one in my life right now.