Daily Grace At Jesus` Feet

January 22, 2010

One of the qualities, God expects from His children and in those who He calls to serve Him is “Humility.” When Apostle Paul writes to Ephesians in chapter 4, he urges in verse 1 before he encourages Ephesians to be completely humble, to live a life worthy of the calling. God calls those who are humble to do mighty and greater things for Him. On the contrary, pride is dangerous because it is opposed by God Himself. When we are proud, we are the enemies of God because the Word says God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Author William Temple in his book, "Christ in His Church" says that "Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all." When God looked at Moses` resumae or bio-data, he found Moses to be the most humble man on earth and He appointed him to be the leader to lead the Israelites from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. We read in Numbers 12:3 about Moses, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Lord knew Moses is the right man for the job.

Like wise, we when God chose Jesus Christ for His grand Redemption plan of humanity; He knew that His only Son is perfect to accomplish His plans to redeem mankind. Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2, “That Jesus Christ humbled himself and became obedient to death.” The verses 6-9 says: “Though Jesus Christ was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names”. Because of Jesus Christ humility and obedience, we understand from the above verses, God “exalted him” and gave Him the “name aboe all names.” John Flavel has said, "They that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud." The Bibles says in Proverbs 18:12: “Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. In fact, humility sets pace for obedience. When pride pushes “I” first; Humility encourages “U” to move forward and considers others better than oneself (Philippians 2:3). Humility does not wear self-pity but clothes gentle and kind spirit. Humility is a grand package that when unwrapped, fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control can be revealed. That is why humility is a great virtue in a Christian’s life. Humility is not “I am better than you are" attitude rather it is more of “I am not better than I am really are” (Romans 12:3). It values others` view and always give benefit of doubt to others. That is what God expects in us. When Peter walked on water toward Jesus, as long as he acknowledged with humility that it is God who made him walk and performed the impossible task, he did not stumble but as he looked around, and as his eyes drifted his focus away from Jesus Christ, and thought “Wow….even I can do it,” he stumbled, fell, and sank inside the water. Let our “wows” glorify God not our own self.

A famous American inventor Samuel Morse (1791 – 1872) a contributor to the invention of  single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs, co-inventor of the Morse code, and a painter of historic scenes was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding." Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."

Many times we think, when we are humble, we will not be recognized and has the urge to push ourselves. Of course, it is important to tell others about us. But if we can instead of saying "what we can do or have done," focus on saying "what God has done and could perform through us," that will glorify God. When we pray for the right words and attitude to exhibit Christ’s humility, God will enable us to glorify Him through our lives and testimony.

Humility brings to Stability in our lives; but if we do not Humble, we will Stumble!

Prayer: Father, like John the Baptist prayed, let you increase and me decrease so you are always magnified through my life and living. Amen!

May you have a Christ-centered Day!