Humility

Jesus---King of kings, Lord of All and Creator of the Universe left heaven.

We could stop right there. He was glorified and recognized as God in heaven, with no one to abuse Him or misunderstand His mission or scoff. He was worshipped freely and enjoyed the amazing communion of the Godhead. He was enthroned. But he left heaven. It was all part of a deal He and the Father had worked out. A plan to bring salvation—to extend mercy to the masses and grace to whosoever would come. (John 3:16-18)

He humbled Himself to come to earth. That doesn’t mean he started out prideful, but rather He moved from a lofty place to a lowly one---heaven’s throne to one of earth’s stables. Perhaps his throne is made of pure gold in heaven. His bed on earth for that first night? A stack of hay in a feeding trough. He left majesty for the mundane, all so He could rescue the miserable.

I’m convinced human beings cannot manufacture genuine humility by trying. Somewhere there would be pride in the motivation. Jesus walked in pure humility. He knew Who He was. He knew His name would be exalted above all names and that at His name every knee would bow. Yet, he walked in perfect humility. He communed with the Father, brought healing to the hurting and taught in the synagogues. He was a leader, discipling many (beyond the twelve. See Luke 8:1-3). He didn’t walk in pride, though He knew everything. (God is omniscient.)

Jesus is God and He walked in “lowliness.” Amazing. I’ve discovered something. It’s only when we know who we are in God through Christ, discovering whom our Creator made us to be, that we can rest in the truth about our identity. Resting in our identity doesn’t require any airs. We can relax when others are comparing themselves and judging others and being critical. We don’t have to embrace pride as a defense mechanism.

I’m also convinced the only way to be consistently humble, is for the Holy Spirit to work this in us. Our role? Desire to be like Christ. Cooperate as the Lord shows us what in our lives could be keeping us from walking in true humility. We’ll learn what false humility is—a façade meant to impress. We’ll get free from past thought patterns which embraced pride. I’m after God’s embrace, but if I’m gripping pride, God will resist me. I never want to be one whom God resists.

Being conformed to the image of Christ includes humility. During this Christmas season, as we ponder what it meant for Jesus to come to earth as a tiny baby, subjecting himself to poverty, let’s consider what it means for this One who receives worship to do so with pure humility. Let’s behold Him. We’re about to find more than ever: He’s beautiful.