Philippians 2:8-11: He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
James 3:2: Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
In my reading today I was struck a couple of times by simple phrases. Not only did they come alive on the page but pinched me with conviction!
James teaches us that if we can bridle our tongue and not offend in word, then we are perfect in the sight of God. Even as small as the tongue is, it is still hard to tame. The reason being it vents what is hidden in our hearts. So we must begin with the heart if we want our tongues to remain silent. Have you considered how the heart is also revealed in our thoughts, our self-talk (I can be brutal to myself in my head), and our running mental commentaries on others as well? Just because no one else might hear those comments doesn’t mean they do not reveal the pollution of our hearts.
The verses in our text for today teach us that Jesus was more than just obedient; He humbled Himself through submission. Many people will obey spiritual authority as long as they agree with it, but the moment they don’t agree with authority, they rebel. This is why Christians can’t tame the tongue. We sometimes refuse to obey when the suffering of our flesh man is involved. Yet Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the cross. The Word declared that He “became” obedient. It was a process that He was willing to undergo that prepared Him for the suffering. It is that process of being “willing to be made willing” to suffer that we all must submit to if we want to be perfect before the Lord.
1 John 2:5-6: But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
The Lord doesn’t require us to walk the streets of Jerusalem to be like Christ, but He does require us to walk “the way” that Jesus walked, and Jesus walked humbly before the Father. He did not please the religious rulers, nor was He humble to them. All the Father asks of us as His children is that we place our faith in Christ and walk in humility before Him while we live in a fallen world.
Lord, help us to become “willing to be made willing” to submit to Your authority, to have our hearts cleansed from all pollution, bitterness, and rebellion so we might walk the way of Christ, in obedience and humility. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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