Palm Sunday Devotion
by Alexis Waack
Have you ever been told you have an attitude problem? As a teenager, I had a bit of an attitude problem. I was moody. I was often snarky to my parents. I did not always speak to my siblings in a kind way. I regularly let my emotions drive my actions. Can you relate? Don’t we often let our emotions cloud our judgment? We let our emotions lead us even when we know they might take us down the wrong path. The world encourages us to lead with our feelings and live by our emotions, to live our truth and let our feelings determine our attitude and actions. But what does the Bible say about the attitude we are to have as Christians? Who do we look to for guidance? Where do we turn for direction?
Paul gives us a clear answer in Philippians 2:5. He writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Where do we turn for direction? We turn to Christ. We look at his attitude to guide us. He gives us the perfect example of how to live our lives as Christians. Through his life on this earth, and especially through Holy Week, Jesus led with an attitude of true humility, self-sacrifice, and love for others. Jesus showed humility by washing the feet of his disciples. He showed his perfect ability to self-sacrifice by submitting himself to be arrested on Maundy Thursday. He showed his love for all people by allowing the Roman guards to nail him to a tree and crucify him. Christ lived with an attitude of love, humility, and self-sacrifice.
It is one thing to see what Jesus did, another to understand why. Why did he humble himself to become a man and a servant? Why did he have an attitude of self-sacrifice? Why did he willingly walk to the cross? The answer is simple. He did this for you. Christ’s love for all people led him to carry out these actions with an attitude of complete selflessness, humility, and unconditional love. What a beautiful truth! Now, we are called to reflect this love, humility, and self-sacrifice. The truth is, we will never be able to achieve a perfect attitude as that of Christ. But we can look to Christ for strength and strive to live like him. And whenever we fall short, we can look to the cross. We have a Savior who never fell short, even through the tortures and pain he endured during Holy Week.
Christ came to do the hard work. He died to take your sin and guilt away. He made you righteous in God’s eyes. Now, it is your job to respond by imitating Christ and his attitudes. Reflect Christ in your life. Find ways to reflect his love by being humble, loving, and self-sacrificing. Be an imitator of Christ as you enter this Holy Week. Consider what it means to imitate the actions and attitudes of Christ. And remember that he did this all for you.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, turn my eyes to you this week and every week. Please help me be an imitator of you in everything I say and do. Amen.