Philippians 2:5-8
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature one with God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!"
Appearances can be deceiving. Often things are not what they appear to be. When Jesus walked the earth he looked like any other man. However, he was God in human form. How exciting it must have been for those who came to know him as they realized that they were in the very presence of God.
In 1884 a young man died, and days after the funeral, his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot met with the unpretentious parents and asked what he could do. They told him that they wanted to fund a memorial to their son, but Eliot impatiently said to them, "perhaps you should have in mind a scholarship." The parents said, "no, we are thinking of something else, something more substantial than that, perhaps a building." With a patronizing tone to his voice, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple left his office. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain, unpretentious couple had gone elsewhere and established a 26 million dollar memorial named "Leland Stanford Junior University," better known today as Stanford!
The Bible warns us about judging people by their appearances. We should always try to look at people the way God sees them. We need to try to look past the surface and see people's hearts. Only then can we truly love them the way God desires for us to love them.
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature one with God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!"
Appearances can be deceiving. Often things are not what they appear to be. When Jesus walked the earth he looked like any other man. However, he was God in human form. How exciting it must have been for those who came to know him as they realized that they were in the very presence of God.
In 1884 a young man died, and days after the funeral, his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot met with the unpretentious parents and asked what he could do. They told him that they wanted to fund a memorial to their son, but Eliot impatiently said to them, "perhaps you should have in mind a scholarship." The parents said, "no, we are thinking of something else, something more substantial than that, perhaps a building." With a patronizing tone to his voice, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple left his office. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain, unpretentious couple had gone elsewhere and established a 26 million dollar memorial named "Leland Stanford Junior University," better known today as Stanford!
The Bible warns us about judging people by their appearances. We should always try to look at people the way God sees them. We need to try to look past the surface and see people's hearts. Only then can we truly love them the way God desires for us to love them.