Christ, the Key (Ingredient)

My grandmother made a mean macaroni salad. There is something about it that makes it different, standing out from all the other macaroni salads I have ever tried (and I consider myself a connoisseur!). But I will never know what makes it so unique. It was a secret recipe she never revealed. She didn’t write it down for my dad or his sisters, but she brought them into her kitchen and showed them how to make it just as she did. Just as my grandmother taught not with a written recipe but by her example in the kitchen, Jesus makes his life visible, inviting us to watch, learn, and live the same way. 

There are no secret recipes for the Christian life. There are no formulas to gain holiness or curry favor with God. But there is a pattern of life that carries with it the unique aroma of Jesus, spreading it everywhere we go. Our Lord Jesus summed up this pattern of life when He said: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35 ESV).  

To paraphrase an old preacher, this means that: “The Christian is a completely free lord of all, subject to none; and the Christian is also a completely dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”  

Although it may be mysterious and paradoxical, this pattern is no secret. In the person of Jesus, we see perfect freedom and perfect service meet. In Jesus, God brings the whole world into the divine kitchen so we might “catch” this way of life through our closeness with Him who is God-in-the-flesh. He Himself is the key ingredient.  

In Philippians 2:1, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi, asking them and us a simple but uncomfortable question: Is Christ the secret ingredient of your life?  

Paul writes…   “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1-2 ESV).  

Although it is phrased as a question, Paul isn’t wondering whether encouragement, love, fellowship, affection, and compassion are truly in Christ. Of course they are! The question is whether these qualities are truly in us.  

Is Christ, with all of His comfort, love, fellowship, compassion, and affection, evident in our lives? Does He make a difference in how we live and how others experience us?  

Are we living in a way that would be impossible apart from Christ’s presence and power in us?  

The Apostle Paul goes on to describe what this one-of-a-kind life looks like by way of contrast: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (vv. 3-4).  

We see just how difficult this is as soon as we try to do it! No matter how nice or pious, when you put human beings in a room together, instinctively, we size one another up. We make snap decisions about who we like or don’t like, who is like us or unlike us, who is worthy or unworthy of our time and company.  

If we were honest, we might even see that our best efforts at selflessness, humility, and generosity are often subtle attempts at gaining love, glory, and acceptance for ourselves. Even when we serve others… it is still all about us. Wanting to be liked. Wanting to feel like a “good person.” Ironically, Paul says that when we focus on our own interests, we become stuck in a cycle of disappointment, resentment, and conflict with others when they fail to give us the response we want.  

Jesus shows us a better way.  

As true God, He has access to all the power and privileges of heaven. And yet He freely chose to “empty himself,” pouring out his life on behalf of a broken and sinful world (vv. 7-8). He didn’t do this to win a popularity contest or earn anyone’s love and praise – not even the Father’s. He did it out of the fullness of God’s own love and joy, to the praise of God’s glorious grace. 

By this same grace, His way of life can be mine and “yours in Christ Jesus” (v.5). Standing in the righteousness of Christ, we are freed for love. We don’t have to prove our own worthiness or usefulness. Rather than exalting ourselves over others, we can bring our power beneath them in loving service. We are free to follow Jesus in seeking out the lowest place from which we may “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10 ESV).  

This kind of freedom is not learned in isolation. It is formed as we walk alongside one another, watching grace take shape in ordinary lives. This is why being part of a Life Group matters so deeply. In close, shared rhythms of prayer, Scripture, confession, and service, we learn what it looks like to follow Jesus not just in theory, but in practice. We see humility modeled, love practiced, forgiveness extended, and faith lived out in real time. Like being invited into the kitchen, Life Groups give us space to observe, imitate, and grow together into the life of Christ. 

With Christ as the “secret ingredient” of our lives, a new kind of community is able to take form - one where people from every nation, tribe, and tongue are gathered together in perfect freedom and love to confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11 ESV).   

1 Martin Luther, “The Freedom of a Christian,” The Annotated Luther, Volume 1: Roots of Reform (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015), 488