On Humility
God on a cross!
What a concept! The most passionate love act of all time, an act that echoes through the halls of history as the ultimate act of mercy and kindness – and God is honored to have died for us. Yet, the death He endured was not an act of pride, but a display of humility.
God’s perspective on humility and the world’s perspective on it are at polar opposites, as different as night and day. Phrases circulate like, “How humiliating,”painting a dreadful picture of failure. Yes, failure with so often associated with humiliation, as if they were one and the same. A fear of humiliation paralyzes many, crippling their determination to even try. To them, humiliation is the ultimate destination on a road of failure.
But Jesus’s attitude was quite different. He was honored to be humiliated, even “to death on a cross.” He hung naked, beaten to the point of death, bleeding and crying in agony. This was picture perfect humiliation. Imagine the Omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe suspended on a tree that He made. And, as an old song goes, He could have called His angels to set Him free from this degradation, this vile humiliation and suffering, but He chose to remain there for what must have seemed an eternity. It was His choice all along, His very own plan from the beginning of time. He chose to humiliation, for humility is in His character.
Humility is a God-thing, and like so many God-things, it cannot be understood by us natural beings. And so it is despised and rejected. But to know God is to know humility, and to be a part of who He is means we must become more like Him – “a servant of all.” There is nothing to be afraid of, for humility will not leave us in ruin as we once feared. The Almighty has been down that road, so we can travel it as well, knowing that just as He overcame, we too will do the same. Ω
Written on January 28, 1992
What a concept! The most passionate love act of all time, an act that echoes through the halls of history as the ultimate act of mercy and kindness – and God is honored to have died for us. Yet, the death He endured was not an act of pride, but a display of humility.
God’s perspective on humility and the world’s perspective on it are at polar opposites, as different as night and day. Phrases circulate like, “How humiliating,”painting a dreadful picture of failure. Yes, failure with so often associated with humiliation, as if they were one and the same. A fear of humiliation paralyzes many, crippling their determination to even try. To them, humiliation is the ultimate destination on a road of failure.
But Jesus’s attitude was quite different. He was honored to be humiliated, even “to death on a cross.” He hung naked, beaten to the point of death, bleeding and crying in agony. This was picture perfect humiliation. Imagine the Omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the Universe suspended on a tree that He made. And, as an old song goes, He could have called His angels to set Him free from this degradation, this vile humiliation and suffering, but He chose to remain there for what must have seemed an eternity. It was His choice all along, His very own plan from the beginning of time. He chose to humiliation, for humility is in His character.
Humility is a God-thing, and like so many God-things, it cannot be understood by us natural beings. And so it is despised and rejected. But to know God is to know humility, and to be a part of who He is means we must become more like Him – “a servant of all.” There is nothing to be afraid of, for humility will not leave us in ruin as we once feared. The Almighty has been down that road, so we can travel it as well, knowing that just as He overcame, we too will do the same. Ω
Written on January 28, 1992
posted by Ron | 7:41 AM
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