Unity and Dying to Ourselves

Last evening I was reading from Philippians 2:1-5 NIV:

[1] "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:.."

As I was rereading through these same verses this morning I was immediately struck by how counter-cultural these encouragements are for those that live in this western culture. We value independence, individualism, pride, and pursuing the American dream. At first blush these encouragements from Paul seem the opposite - be like-minded, humble, putting others first, etc. I believe Paul is talking about one of the great challenges for any Christian, namely the dying to oneself.

The idea that we become a new creation in Christ, have an old self that we must put-off and a new-self, that we must choose to put on, is quite radical. This is not just another club we join with some new rules, but a literal transformation of our whole being. Our thought process, how we see ourselves, the value of our relationships, how e interact with others are all supposed to be changing, as we become more and more like Christ, and join ourselves to the Body of Christ.

Living our lives for the purpose of fulfilling someone else's (the Lord Jesus) will, is counter to our normal mode of thought and perspective. Understanding the importance and value of unity within the Body of Christ, and how unity trumps individualism without taking away the unique value we all have, is a fine balance. We really are part of something new, and each of us are absolutely essential, but we cannot attain our destiny as a spotless Bride of Christ, if we can't learn to think and act as one.

Learning to look st someone else's interests before our own, seems self-defeating, and that is the point. There is room for each of us, and who we are is of supreme value to the Lord, but He calls to lay down our will (our self interest), and find our place within His. He loves us and created each of us uniquely, and is not asking for a bunch of vanilla Christians, who all look and act alike, but rather a rich and diverse people who willingly lay down their will, not their personality, to join themselves to His Body.

As I was thinking about this, I had two images pop into my mind, the first being blended wine, the second a rich and awesome mix of spices. In both scenarios, the flavors and uniqueness of each is added to the whole, and affect the flavor of the whole mixture. It seems that there would be a loss of value for the individual flavor, but in reality, when blended, the other flavors enhance each other, as they work together in unison. When you sip a great blended wine, you can still pick out all the original flavors, if you pay attention, but the experience of this great blended wine is far better than any one wine that is used in the blend. In the same way, when you taste a spice mixture, you can pick out the individual spices, but it is the mixture that brings greater experience.

In the same way, we are all great and unique, but without the uniqueness of all the other members of the Body of Christ, we are just a single person, a single good flavor. The Lord calls us to learn how to join ourselves to others in a way that enhances everyone, seeing the value is each other and calling it forth. Allowing someone else to be the 'flavor of the month' requires us to be willing to put them before ourselves. He is the master blender and is calling us to join ourselves to Him, to allow Him to exert His will in our lives, to call out the uniqueness in each of us, at just the right moment to enhance all. As an example, as much as like garlic, there are just times that I need to leave the garlic in the spice rack - banana-cream pie would be ruined by garlic.

Lord, help us to learn to become this new creation, dying to our own will and joining ourselves to You and allowing Your will to become our's. We desire to fulfill our purpose as critical members in the Body of Christ.