Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Repute is defined as the opinion generally held of someone or something; the state of being generally regarded in a particular way. Ref. Bing Dictionary

Just exactly how long do you think this state of non-reputation lasted? We cannot control what others think. Looking at the life of Christ, from a human perspective, His reputation preceded Him. All you have to do is look at all the prophecies about the Christ child to understand that. Three Magi came with gifts in recognition of His arrival. Two elderly people who prayed to see the Messiah before they died, recognized Him as a baby. Their opinions were anticipatory in nature and realized in a moment.

From God’s perspective however, He went from being the creator of all things, to a child who had done nothing. Who among us can say such a thing? We begin with nothing and have to build a reputation. He was everything and gave it all away to become a human who had done nothing.

If you stop and think about His reputation today, you will find it has not changed in nearly two thousand years. He is still the most divisive personality in history. He is loved and hated with the same level of passion as He was when He lived out His ministry. His reputation has not changed.

I on the other hand can witness that my reputation has changed only because of Him. Like everyone else I cannot control what other people think of me, but their thoughts and opinions of me have changed greatly, for the better. The reason is simple. Before Christ I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. Rebels do not consider opinions, they only care about the moment.

Coming to Christ changed my focus of caring about reputation. Not my reputation, His. Now I cannot control what people think, I can only control what they hear and see from a human perspective. As a representative of Christ what I say and do reflects on Him, not me.