One of the themes of my Advent musings is the humility of Christ Jesus. That the Magnificent God of Heaven would choose to become an ordinary baby, delivered among animals in the lowliest of places, live as a laborer, and subject Himself to ‘death, even death on a cross’ is a wonder.
Hebrews
tells us that He was willing to “declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” (2.13) Yes, He calls us His brothers and
sisters! What love, what humility.
It is a call to us, so well-trained in protecting our rights and insisting on being comfortable, to change our ways. We must be willing to release life, to be 'out of control,' a scary proposition to most of us.
The centrality of humility in our relationship with the Lord is abundantly clear in the Word.
Jesus spoke to the need with this paradoxical statement -
"whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4, NIV) Paul
urges us to "Be completely humble
and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians
4:2, NIV)
James does not qualify the command - "Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10,
NIV)
Peter, likewise, directs us to "Humble yourselves, therefore, under
God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6,
NIV)
Humility is an indispensable trait in the character of the godly.
From Genesis to the Revelation, we find humility presented as an indispensable quality of the godly. What a foreign concept to most of us! “I want it my way!” we say without a twinge of conscience. We dissolve relationships, throw our garbage over the fence to spite our neighbor, and insult one another on social media and think – “That’s normal behavior.” It is NOT in the life of the disciple of Jesus.
Humility is
the fertile soil in which peace with others flourishes.
It dissipates anger.
It facilitates forgiveness.
It raises up the wounded and broken, viewing people as being worthy of respect.
Humility allows us to strengthen our relationship with God bringing us to bended knee and open heart before Him. (By the way, prayer is truly enriched by actually kneeling before God in humility and few do it anymore.)
Some confuse humility with a lack of healthy self-esteem. Truly, those who have learned to be humble are those who understand that genuine self-esteem is rooted in faith that takes hold of God’s amazing grace and love.
Humility relieves us of anxiety because the humble has no need to pursue the ‘success’ image that is entrenched in American lore and society. The humble person is set free from the slavery that comes from trying to find worth and acceptance by pleasing others. They do not need to dance better, buy bigger, or spend money on fashion to impress.
Isaiah reminds us that "The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled)." (Isaiah 2:11-12, NIV) One of John’s themes in the Revelation is the judgment that will come to the prideful of the world when the Lord calls them to account.
Like all evidence of the Spirit’s life, humility is both a gift of God and something we must cultivate. Do you want to become humble?
First step is to acknowledge Christ as Lord. Not just once, but daily. (Try kneeling in prayer!) Confess, aloud, “You are Lord!” in your morning prayer. Almost every day, among the first thoughts in mind is a prayer – “Lord, this is your day, I am your servant. May You be honored by my thought, word, and action.” (Sin being what it is, I fall short of that aspiration too frequently!)
Second step is honest confession of need, of sin, of reliance on His grace and goodness. I am a Christian for over a half-century, have preached the Word for 4 decades, but I am still a child before my Father; absolutely dependent on the Holy Spirit moment by moment. That is not weakness, that is humility. Without the life of the Spirit actively working in me as I yield myself to Him, I cannot please God. Nor, my friend, can you.
You ARE capable of living for Christ Jesus and being humble. This character quality grows from daily dependence, real prayer, learning the Truth of the Word, and in close communion with other Christians. Refuse to be deceived by pride, attempting a ‘self-centered’ Christianity. That phrase is an oxymoron, an impossibility.
If you pray for humility to be created in your life, prepare for struggle! And then, bow your head, open your heart, and learn to lean, like a child, on the complete sufficiency of the Father.
Here is a word from the Word. "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13, NLT) Do you believe that? Now, humbly live it.
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