We don’t know everything about our heavenly Father, obviously. And really, we don’t even know a lot about Him. Only glimpses. So we thank Him for the gift of eternal intimacy that we will have with Him to learn more.

Still, in the glimpses, we know enough to have faith in God and appreciate His ways now. Credit for this is given to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who knows God’s mind and testifies to our spirit what we need to know in our mortal state of being.

For instance, it was the Spirit who enlightened me from God’s word in Philippians 2: 3-6. The scripture talks about considering others to be more important than ourselves. I think about that a lot, knowing that’s God’s will.

I sense the divine purity in living that way. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to walk in that way, not even most of the time. So I pray to be able to come to the end of myself and surrender to such godly described humility.

And godly this outlook is. For in the Philippians’ passage, we gain an astounding insight into the character of God. We are told that in considering others more important than ourselves, we are to not merely look out for our own interests, but also for their interests.

We are told that this is the attitude that was, and is, in Christ Jesus Himself. Up until now, having read the passage many times, I simply took this as an instruction, a model for us to follow in regards to each other. And we should.

Then the Spirit widened His illumination to show me more. It is this. If God wants us to think this way, it’s because He thinks this way. This explains His concern for us, and why Jesus, as God, gave up His godly rights, privileges, and rank to become one of us. For our good and our interest, it is why He laid down His life to save us and redeem us.

For certain, God’s own interest is to have us restored to His image. He wants us to resume being the representation of His righteousness throughout creation. But He also is thinking of our personal interests. That is, He wants us to experience and enjoy the fullness of the rights that come from being created in His image.

God saw that it is in our interest to know Him thoroughly; that it goes beyond serving Him. It’s in our interest to know the free-will inclusion of living an abundant eternal life of shared love and fellowship with each other and our Maker.

He didn’t throw us away when we rebelled against Him. We weren’t destroyed and another crop of humanity was produced. He has kept the original line of His creation going because once given life, life is deserved. It is to be lived eternally. God has deemed that as important.

Once life is given; value is given. We are valuable in God’s eyes. Again, His only begotten Son’s blood attests to that fact. That a sin-free, new earth and heavens will be recreated for us attests to that fact.

At first hearing, it probably sounds blasphemous to say that someone else is more important than God. But because I see in God’s very own words His thought process; His feelings; I dare venture to say that He considers us more important than Himself!

What a revelation! What a glimpse of His outward agape love! What a Friend, Father, and God! Knowing His heart in this way, how can you not love Him even more?