Humility. An interesting concept to wrestle with.
An old pastor once told me a story: he said that he was well loved in his congregation before he retired and people thought very highly of him. He had humbly served them for many years, and the pastor’s humility was one of the things people admired about him. One Sunday this congregation presented the pastor with a medal that read, “HUMBLE” on it. The pastor humbly accepted the medal and thanked the congregation for this honor.
The following Sunday as he dressed the pastor saw the medal and thought, “Perhaps I better wear that, because if I don’t the congregation will think that I’m not thankful for having received it.” So he pinned it on. The pastor’s face became sad as he finished his story, “When I arrived at church, the congregation quickly decided that to wear that medal was not humble . . . so they took it away from me.” Then he laughed uproariously. I groaned and shook my head – probably like you are right now!
Humility is an important quality for all of us to have as Christians. Proverbs tells us that a gentle answer turns away wrath. Well it’s hard to be gentle when you are overly proud. Jesus tells us that the person who would be great must become servant of all. When we begin to think of ourselves as “all grown up” Jesus reminds us to have faith like a little child.
So, where do we find humility? We find it in a clear understanding of who we are. We are sinners. We have each done things to anger God almighty. We have a disease within us that leads us to selfishness, self-righteousness, and self-importance. These are all weaknesses that our enemy the devil will exploit to cast doubt and discord into our hearts. He will prick our pride and we swell up and become indignant with ourselves, each other and even with God.
I don’t like thinking about that, but humility begins with the sober reality of our brokenness. I have had the privilege of briefly addressing an Alcoholics Anonymous group. One of the things that struck me was the humility around the table. They knew who they were. They knew their weakness, and they embraced the fact they longed for that which would destroy them.
But there is more to humility to just being beaten down by our sin! There is also joy and peace in humility, because even though we were in that condition, we are not any longer!
Humility finds its place into our hearts as a response to the love that Jesus’ has poured out on us. We are not just people who have been in the depths because of our sin; we have received the glory of Jesus through His death and resurrection. We will live in glory with Him forever, because He humbled Himself and paid the price to pull us out of sin and return us to our God and Father.
We did not save ourselves. But we are saved. We cannot walk this walk alone. But Jesus has give us the Holy Spirit and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Take note of v. 10: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. God will do it. Rely on Him!
An old pastor once told me a story: he said that he was well loved in his congregation before he retired and people thought very highly of him. He had humbly served them for many years, and the pastor’s humility was one of the things people admired about him. One Sunday this congregation presented the pastor with a medal that read, “HUMBLE” on it. The pastor humbly accepted the medal and thanked the congregation for this honor.
The following Sunday as he dressed the pastor saw the medal and thought, “Perhaps I better wear that, because if I don’t the congregation will think that I’m not thankful for having received it.” So he pinned it on. The pastor’s face became sad as he finished his story, “When I arrived at church, the congregation quickly decided that to wear that medal was not humble . . . so they took it away from me.” Then he laughed uproariously. I groaned and shook my head – probably like you are right now!
Humility is an important quality for all of us to have as Christians. Proverbs tells us that a gentle answer turns away wrath. Well it’s hard to be gentle when you are overly proud. Jesus tells us that the person who would be great must become servant of all. When we begin to think of ourselves as “all grown up” Jesus reminds us to have faith like a little child.
So, where do we find humility? We find it in a clear understanding of who we are. We are sinners. We have each done things to anger God almighty. We have a disease within us that leads us to selfishness, self-righteousness, and self-importance. These are all weaknesses that our enemy the devil will exploit to cast doubt and discord into our hearts. He will prick our pride and we swell up and become indignant with ourselves, each other and even with God.
I don’t like thinking about that, but humility begins with the sober reality of our brokenness. I have had the privilege of briefly addressing an Alcoholics Anonymous group. One of the things that struck me was the humility around the table. They knew who they were. They knew their weakness, and they embraced the fact they longed for that which would destroy them.
But there is more to humility to just being beaten down by our sin! There is also joy and peace in humility, because even though we were in that condition, we are not any longer!
Humility finds its place into our hearts as a response to the love that Jesus’ has poured out on us. We are not just people who have been in the depths because of our sin; we have received the glory of Jesus through His death and resurrection. We will live in glory with Him forever, because He humbled Himself and paid the price to pull us out of sin and return us to our God and Father.
We did not save ourselves. But we are saved. We cannot walk this walk alone. But Jesus has give us the Holy Spirit and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Take note of v. 10: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. God will do it. Rely on Him!
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