Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV): In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature 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! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Colossians 1:15-23 (NIV): The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
John 15:1-17 (NIV): “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”
John 10:25-30 (NIV): Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 11:25-26 (NIV): Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
TO LOVE sincerely is to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS: JESUS DID THIS DAILY and WHOLE-HEARTEDLY.
JESUS loved GOD, and He loved us, enough to SAVE, DELIVER, REDEEM, and FREE us, enough to SACRIFICE and SURRENDER everything He had, enough to SUBMIT to GOD’s purpose, plan, mission, work, and will, enough to STEP DOWN from heaven’s throne, DESCEND to earth and LIVE as Man, enough to VAIL His CROWN and GLORY for GOD, for LOVE, to SAVE, HEAL, FREE, and DELIVER us.
In the dictionary, TO VAIL as a transitive verb has an archaic meaning: “to take off or lower (one’s hat or crown) as a token of respect or submission; to take off one’s hat or otherwise show respect or submission to someone,” and this word VAIL best illustrates JESUS’ CONDUCT, CHARACTER, NATURE, and HEART, for He TOOK OFF and LOWERED the INSIGNIAS—the BADGES and SYMBOLS—of His ROYALTY, His IDENTITY, and His MAJESTY, and He DESCENDED to earth for us, LEAVING in heaven His THRONE, His KINGDOM, His SERVANTS, His SPLENDOR, His MAJESTY, His PRIVILEGES—HIS RIGHTS and BENEFITS.
JESUS was the SON of GOD who became the SON of MAN: FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN. OUR LORD JESUS LOVED GOD the FATHER and US enough to HUMBLE Himself as a child, then as a man for thirty-three years on earth, enough to SURRENDER His will for His Father’s—GOD’s—to endure SIN, SHAME, PAIN, REJECTION, and SUFFERING on CALVARY’s CROSS, enough to GIVE His LIFE and His BLOOD for our SALVATION and REDEMPTION, for our FORGIVENESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS, so we could be REDEEMED and RECONCILED to GOD.
Because of HIM, we who BELIEVE and RECEIVE JESUS as SAVIOR and LORD now have the PROMISE and ASSURANCE of ETERNAL LIFE and EVERLASTING LOVE in the PRESENCE of GOD, for the VEIL between GOD and us has been torn—ripped apart—and JESUS CHRIST, the ANOINTED ONE, now seated at the right hand of GOD, no longer has TO VEIL HIS IDENTITY or VAIL HIS CROWN, HIS LIGHT, HIS ROYALTY, or HIS GLORY, and we who WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT, who LOVE GOD with all OUR HEARTS, SOULS, MINDS, and MIGHT, and PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM, can look to the hills from whence comes OUR HELP, and SEE, KNOW, and FEEL through the HOLY SPIRIT, GOD WITH US, the LIGHT, LIFE, and TRUTH of JESUS and the GLORY, MAJESTY, POWER, and SOVEREIGNTY of GOD, and we can HUMBLE ourselves, SUBMIT TO GOD, WALK IN FAITH and LOVE LIKE JESUS DID while we’re here on earth. And when we’re in heaven, IN THE ETERNAL PRESENCE OF GOD, we can PRAISE and WORSHIP in SPIRIT and TRUTH, and we can STAND, KNEEL, or BOW before JESUS and GOD’s THRONE of GRACE, VAILING our heavenly rewards, our FIVE CROWNS: the Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8); the Crown of Victory (1 Corinthians 9:25-27); the Crown of Life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10); the Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:2-4; Matthew 5:19); and the Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19; Daniel 12:3; Proverbs 11:30).
But these are the real questions for us: Have we SURRENDERED our lives to GOD? Are we living for Him? Are we serving Him? Have we given Him our time, our talents, and our treasure? Is JESUS CHRIST really our LORD and KING? And when we finally meet Him face to face, will we have ANY CROWNS to VAIL to JESUS, or will we stand, kneel, or bow before JESUS, the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, with our heads bare and our hands empty, with nothing to give?
