MY RIGHTS!

By Cathy Oestreich Philippians 2:5-11 (New King James Version) 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In my life, the best natural example of losing my life is the picture of motherhood Even though I chose to be a mother, -I quickly found many elements of motherhood that were not a choice. I found many of “my rights” had been taken away.

The right to: - My physical sleep - Sleep 8 hours a day - Have time to myself - Sit through all of anything - Plan my schedule (eat, shower, shop, pray) - Think independently (self-focused)

I learned that when I felt frustrated as a young mom, -It was usually because I resented my rights being ‘taken’ But God used that realization to turn me to my walk with Him, and evaluate my spiritual life.

Philippians 2:6 “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” -Jesus did not “demand & cling to His rights as God” And … (v5) “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” -

My attitude was to be the same as that which was shown by Jesus When we come to Jesus, and become saved, we have CHOSEN to surrender all that we are.

BUT: - We may not realize what that fully means until we encounter resistance in ourselves; - And that continually takes place over years as our walk with him deepens; - As He points to areas in our lives in which He desires to change.

We have given Him Lordship: -Made Him Master, and given Him authority in our lives,

Therefore we have given up our ‘rights’ to: -Plan our lives/our days -Think independently (self-focused) -Live only for ourselves/our interests -Sometimes, our right to eat or sleep if He calls us to pray -Our goals

He calls us to keep our eyes on him; on His plan and purpose for our lives; on the bigger picture And like that, in parenting, -We need to be looking ahead to God’s purpose in the raising and training of our children; -Beyond the diapers & teething and all-nighters, beyond the daily demands, -To God’s eternal purposes, -And willingly accept the sacrifices of our rights in light of that.