Let's read and ponder on the words of God.
Philippians 2 : 5-11
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Are you a humble person?
We may look humble on the outside but does our heart look the same?
Or are we just acting it out with our hearts full of cursing and bitterness?
Let's imagine yourself in this scenario.
Your were assigned to be in-charge of a task in an important event of your company. You put in all your effort, all your time into it. You missed the football match of your favourite team or your favourite talk show just to stay up late to finish up the task assigned. You even dreamed on ideas for the plan to work out even though you just had 4 hours to sleep. Documents and proposals and plans never failed to accompany you during your mealtime. You didn't remember if you had your dinner. You were criticized because your plan didn't please your boss. No choice but to redo to satisfy him. Not once, but twice, thrice and ...
And finally, the big day arrived. You rushed here and there, up and down to make sure everything runs as planned. The event was a success, you were glad, because all your hard work paid off. And so, your boss promised to have a Gala Dinner held to celebrate the success and appreciate everyone were involved. You knew that you would be invited and you were imagining yourself being patted by your boss and he was saying to you, "Bravo! Good job! Our company needs people just like you!"
One pleasant morning, you heard your colleagues talking about what they had last night. One of them asked you with a warm smile, "Hey! Why didn't you show up last night?"
Confused, you stared at him. "You weren't invited to the Gala Dinner last night?" Someone questioned again before you could ask what actually happened.
How do you feel? What a heartbreaking news? Unappreciated? Being forgotten?
"I did so much and this is what I get in return? Even the peon was invited but not me?" You may say.
BUT, does that all really matter?
If Jesus were you, it wouldn't even bother Him.
Why? We have a great lesson to learn -- Humility.
Jesus was born in a manger, not in a castle.
Jesus' mother was a normal citizen, not a queen or even a princess.
Jesus' father was a carpenter, not a king.
6 Who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, left His throne and born into the world.
Imagine, Almighty God with absolute power and righteousness, left the splendour of heaven and born into the world full of evil. When Jesus was born, there were no major celebrations, no sumptuous feast. Even king Herod didn't manage to find Him. It was all calm and serene. King of kings born in such a discreet way. If that doesn't describe what humble is, I can't find any other better example. Jesus served throughout His life, even though it was only 33 years on earth, from the day He was born till the day of crucifixion. Jesus even washed the feet of His disciple, He wanted His disciple to serve others as well like He did. And after all He had done, He was crucified. The path to the crucifixion ground was indeed a tough one. He was spat, whipped and ridiculed. In spite of all the disgrace, He continued until every sin of ours is paid on the cross. "IT IS FINISHED."
(John 19:30)
King of kings, Lord of lords, died in the most shameful way at that time, being crucified.
"I will make sure everyone of you have a taste of the fire cast down from the heaven!" DID JESUS SAY THAT?
NO!
YET! Yes, YET! Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."...
(Luke 23:34)
Not even a complain or curse from Jesus towards those who mistreated Him.
He was spat, whipped, ridiculed, tormented, and YET he never blame anyone. WHY????
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:34)
Yes, He know He has a great mission from the Father. It is about the salvation of the mankind. So, when he didn't get what He should be getting or being treated for all what He had done on earth, it is no big deal for Him. As he knows, He is doing the will of the Father, and that's more than enough.
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Oh these verses are so beautiful. Although He was not appreciated on earth, but the Father exalted Him to the highest place.
So what do you learn from the life of Jesus? The same question: Are you a humble person? I bet you can answer it clearly now. In life, we think that helping others will make us at the losing end. We may be thinking that we are wasting our time, wasting our energy to help those in need. Help means you do it even though it is not convenient to you, you don't help when it is convenient to you.
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40)
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified
before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 18:14)
The Word explains them all. Maybe you will say, "I know, but it is hard who don't go mad when they are forgotten after for all what they had done?"
Yeah, no doubt it is not easy. The key to everything is to be close to God. Once you have the intimate relationship with God, everything comes naturally because you know, if Jesus were you, what He will do. Even when your heart is drifted away, the Holy Spirit will be there to guide you back.
Humility? Indeed a great lesson to learn!
Merry Christmas everyone!
A picture to ponder:
