April 2025 – Elder’s Message

By Looking Out, Looking In, and Looking Up.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5 NIV).

The season of Lent provides us with the opportunity to look inward. We look inward not so much to be further curved inward but to realize where we have failed to serve our neighbor and love God. We look inward not so much to wallow in guilt but to be driven to Christ. We look inward not for the sake of self-improvement but so that we are forced to cry out, “Lord, have mercy.” We look in so that we are forced to look up.

As healthy as the practice of introspection is during Holy Week, we must not stay there too long because we all have the tendency to make things about us. The apostle Paul does something remarkable in this reading. All in one statement, he has us look out, look in, and look up. First, he has us consider not only the way we treat the people in our lives but also the attitude we bear toward them. Then, he has us briefly look at ourselves by considering the attitude we have toward others. Finally, he has us look up as we watch Jesus this Holy Week.

Jesus’ attitude is already exhibited on Palm Sunday. As we consider Paul’s words and watch Jesus, the problem is that we might feel stuck. On the one hand, Jesus enters Jerusalem to lay down his life. On the other hand, we are supposed to have that same mindset for all the people in our lives. Having that attitude is hard enough for the people we say we love. There are days when saying something nice to our loved ones seems nearly impossible.

Jesus went into Jerusalem knowing just what kind of King we need. We need a King who has a mindset of self-sacrifice. We need a King who was so consumed by this mindset that he would enter Jerusalem to rescue us from our sin. It is only a King like that who causes us to look up with confidence and look out at all the people in our lives.

As we read this section this week and as we watch Jesus this Holy Week, we will see that there is something we can learn from Jesus. What we learn is less about striving to be like Jesus and more about understanding that Jesus covers all our failures to have a Holy Week mindset.

Christ Jesus, you are my King who went into Jerusalem as a servant. Cause me to take on your servant mindset as I serve the people in my life. Amen.

From Meditations Daily Devotional, March 2, 2025 – May 31, 2025