The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 2:3-7, “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.”

Did you ever take an online survey? I took one the other day. At the end of the survey, it asked if I had any

comments to make about their product. I’ve always got comments, so I ventured to say exactly what I thought. But when I examined it carefully, I discovered that it was just a selfish comment, possessed of no humility on my part. So I erased it all and didn’t send it. I don’t remember having the Apostle Paul on my mind at the time, but what he says in the verses above fit me to a “t.”

Are you a person who only looks out for yourself? We’re supposed to look out for ourselves, but not only for

ourselves. Other people have needs, too; and they are to be cared for more importantly than our own. It’s the Christian way. Jesus Christ set the pattern for the attitude we should have. What attitude is that? “He existed in Eternity with the Father, (but) did not regard being the Father’s equal something to be grasped (with retention).” That means that when the Father needed someone to send to Earth to give His message and to die on the Cross for the sins of mankind, Jesus did not put up a fuss! He “emptied Himself,” that is, He lowered Himself to the status of a human being and took on a man’s appearance.

Whether you’ve ever thought of it, I don’t know, but what Jesus did was “tough stuff!” Imagine the governor of you state becoming a street cleaner! That’s a “come-down!” Well, Jesus’ “come-down” was even more so because He was God! He was thinking of us – you and me! So He became a “servent,” despite the fact that He was and always had been God!

Do you want to be like Jesus? Quit thinking about yourself and start thinking about others and their needs. Don’t look for what you think they can do for you; just concentrate on their needs and how you can help them. That’s the true, Christian way! What do you get out of it? If you have to ask that, you haven’t caught on to what this is all about. But, since you ask, I’ll tell you. You will get joy unspeakable, seeing a person have a need met that he or she couldn’t meet by themselves. So, let’s quit thinking about ourselves and start looking at how we can help a neighbor! Okay? Do it the Jesus way!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”