humility

by

 ULTIMATE POWER, GREAT HUMILITY

(Exodus 14:21&22) Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.  The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

(Matthew 8:23-26) Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.  But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”  He replied, “you of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

I enjoy the game of football.  I watch the NFL during football season, and I am always amazed at the abilities of professional athletes.  Those guys have developed phenomenal skills, but each one must deal with the pridefulness that tempts them.

 In our scriptures from Exodus and Matthew, we get a glimpse of God’s abilities, to which no mere human can aspire.  When we humans have talent that stands out, we are subject to being prideful and at times even arrogant.  We tend to love the attention and strut our stuff.  Just imagine what we would be like if we had God’s abilities.

Jesus, here on the earth in human for, displayed ultimate power with great humility.  He walked among us as a humble teacher who could raise the dead, heal the sick, command the powers of nature and many other supernatural displays of power, yet he humbly remained a servant and eventually gave his life for us.  What a wonderful example of how to handle great ability.

Humbleness is an attribute of God.  I believe that it is ultimately rooted in love.  John reminds us that God is love.1   He also tells us that God so loved the world that he sent his only son.2 Jesus came to earth as a humble baby, and all the years that he walked the earth, he remained humble.

Pridefulness is a trait of fallen humans, and it hinders us from loving each other. Nothing we see in God displays pridefulness.  His love is pure.  His display of power is always tempered by his love and eternal plan for us.  

(1John 2:15&16) Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 4:8 1          John 3:16 2

by

AS I HAVE LOVED YOU

(John 13:34) Anew command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Jesus made it clear that his disciples should love one another.  Did you ever wonder in the day-to-day interactions among fellow Christians, what it means to love one another?  Then I realized that Jesus told us the answer.  He said, “As I have loved you.”  So, I looked into how Jesus loved his disciples.

I found many examples of Jesus’ displays of love toward his disciples.  He taught them and drew them close to himself.  He corrected them, but never condemned them.  He prayed for them, fed them, and encouraged them.  He protected them and made their lives purposeful.  All these things are expressions of his love for them.  I could go on, but I think the most telling example might be what is recorded in John 13.

(John 13:3-5) Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus, who had all things under his power, took on the lowly place of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet.  The washing of feet was a part of their culture because they walked on dusty streets in sandals.  It was a great kindness to the recipient, but it was a lowly place to be the one washing.

Jesus was teaching a great lesson for us all.  To his disciple it was also an expression of love.  Jesus’ actions said to us that to love one another means that we should not count ourselves above serving one another. As I thought about this, I concluded that to love one another requires us to be humble.  From the other perspective, I asked myself, can a prideful person be loving to others? Well, I’ll leave you with these thoughts.

However, the truth stands before us because Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”