James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
It seems to me that the greatest obstacle in having a relationship with Jesus is that of pride. Pride is, in a sense, the antithesis of grace.
Grace proclaims that there is a need.
Pride denies the need exists.
Grace asks for help.
Pride looks to help itself.
Grace requires relationship with others.
Pride requires nothing but self.
John Piper wrote an entire sermon based on the principle of pride, and how it got in the way of really getting to know Jesus. According to Piper, pride is the common root for many who did not believe. Pride cannot stand the idea of confessing there is a need...and acknowledging that help must come from the outside in.
One author put it this way with regards to Jesus and the people surrounding him: "Those who didn't go to church loved him. He met their needs. Those who were in the church hated him. He exposed their needs"
And that is the root with the problem of pride- it never likes to be exposed.
Jesus came to do just that. He came to expose our sins and our weaknesses. He came to expose to us the very need inside of us that He came to fill. The need for Himself.
It's no coincidence that as Jesus was giving His life on the cross he was placed between two men- one on His right, and one on His left. Both with great need. Both paying the debts of their sins. Both would determine their eternal destinations by the last words spoken to the Messiah, dying in between them.
Pride questioned Him. Pride hurled insults at Him. Pride was afraid to see the needs, even while hanging on a cross, bleeding to death on account of his sinful state.
Humility asked for only one thing, "Remember me, Jesus..."
Remember me, Jesus. Put me back together. Save me from this mess I have made for myself.
Humility is the only way in which we can be lifted up. Humility is the only way to Jesus.
I love this. A couple weeks ago my pastor spoke about how when God looked for a king after Saul, instead of looking for the most "qualified" or "leaderly" person, he chose one of humility, David. In 1 Samuel 16, God anoints Samuel to go to find the next king from the sons of Jesse. Each son comes out and Samuel sees their strength, their height, their confidence and exclaims "Surely this is the next king of Israel!" But each time God says, "No, I have rejected him." Finally, all the sons go through, none with the Lord's approval, and Samuel asks Jesse if he has any more sons. Jesse says yes, but he is young and weak, out tending the sheep. But they bring him in anyway, the humble overlooked son, and immediately the Lord says, "This is the one; anoint him."
ReplyDeleteI love that God blesses humility. It is a hard challenge though, wrestling with pride. I love the way you worded your post:
"Pride questioned Him. Pride hurled insults at Him. Pride was afraid to see the needs, even while hanging on a cross, bleeding to death on account of his sinful state.
Humility asked for only one thing, "Remember me, Jesus..."
Thank you Al! I love the story of David being anointed....such a good example of humility. You're right, the "weak" is who Jesus is looking for. He came for the sick, the weak, the broken, and those in need...and it takes a realistic perspective of ourselves to understand that's who we are without His grace.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, there is a fine line between humility...and low self esteem. I wrote a post about that once, something about Self Loathing, I should look it up and post it for you to read. I think you'ed enjoy it.
Anyway, thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts. Love to hear them!
Hi Debraf.. I like your blog.. The thought... It happened to me, too. Like I'm used to decide things on my own and I could just remember God when I couldn't handle things anymore.. Nice site you have Debraf! Two thumbs up!..
ReplyDelete