Even as a child, talking to people was easy for me. I would talk to random people in the grocery store or at the park, even after being warned against it. My grandmother would often say, "you could make a friend on a deserted island".

What was hard for me was forming long-lasting friendships. As easy as it was to talk to people, it was actually just that much harder for me to trust others. When I was in high school a mentor observed, "how can you really be trusted if you don't, can't, or won't trust others".

In other words, nothing was going to change until I was willing to be vulnerable - willing to allow myself to truly be known, warts and all. Within that bigger picture, then and only then, could I understand and accept God’s love for me.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus builds community with vulnerability. In Him people saw the depth of the Father's love. When He taught it was for people to know His Father’s love. When He healed it was for people to know His Father’s love. He invites people to know His heart, and in return He gives them permission to reveal their hearts.

The Christian community is built on this unified vulnerability under Christ.

In Philippians Chapter 2 Paul says: 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus,

Paul reminds the Philippians that humility is a community defining attribute, because it is an attribute that defines Jesus. The vulnerability and humility they find in Jesus will be the glue which holds them together.

As I reflect on this part of the chapter, I am reminded that the world is not transformed with the sword but with the humility, vulnerability, and love of Jesus.

–Pastor Jackie James