How's Your Form?

"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men... (Philippians 2:6,7)

When we were living in N. Ireland, instead of asking, "How are you?" folks sometimes said, “How’re you keepin’? or, "How's your form?" Needless to say, this sounded strange and even humorous to us.

I was reminded of this again today when I read this verse in Philippians. If you had asked Jesus about His form, when He walked this earth, His answer would have been, "Not what it was." And I can tell you, that would be an understatement. Can you imagine a more radical change? It's one thing for a king to become a peasant; it's quite another for the Creator of the world to become a Servant to those He created—for the hands that formed the seas to take water and stoop to wash dirty feet. If Jesus Christ was God (and He was) there has never been, nor will there ever be, a display of humility and condescension to equal it; and, according to First Corinthians 15:28, the Eternal Son will also be the Eternal Servant.  

Here, then, is the burden of my message to us today: In eternity, Jesus was in the form of God; through the miracle of the Virgin Birth, He was made in the likeness of men; but He chose to take the form of a servant. As the verse says, He took it upon Himself. And in our case, we, too, are "made in the likeness of men"; but we must choose whether or not we will take "the form of a servant."

Are you wondering whether or not you’ve made that choice? Here's a clue:

You can tell whether or not you are becoming a servant by the way you respond when people treat you like one.