Devoting Oneself to Humility: Inspired by Jesus

Morning


(Pray)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

  so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

  so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

  so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,

   he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass,

   he flourishes like a flower of the field

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

   and its place remembers it no more.  (Psalm 103:11-15)


(Begin your day with worship.  Praise the Lord.  Thank him using this Psalm.)


Midday

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.  What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."  (Matthew 18:10-14)

(Think about a time when a pet dear to you wandered away or got lost.  Remember how concerned you were.)

Evening

In these meditations I have, for more than one reason, almost exclusively directed attention to the humility that becomes us as creatures. It is not only that the connection between humility and sin is so abundantly set forth in all our religious teaching, but because I believe that for the fullness of the Christian life it is indispensable that prominence be given to the other aspect. If Jesus is indeed to be our example in His lowliness, we need to understand the principles in which it was rooted, and in which we find the common ground on which we stand with Him, and in which our likeness to Him is to be attained.   (Andrew Murray, Humility, Introduction)

(Have you experienced a humility that brings "the fullness of the Christian life" apart from times of struggle with sin?  How does it remind you of Jesus "in his lowliness?")

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My son told me the other day that the major component of dust that we clean around the house is skin and hair.  With all the dust in our house, it seems that we are "returning to the dust" rather quickly.  What a reminder of what I am made of!  Much of what flies around in the air and finds its home under the beds and on top of window sills is what I am made of.

Humility has is foundation in dust.  Humus is "earth" in Latin.  Its roots are not so much about dust, but about being lowly or "on the ground,"  but dust is about as low as you go.  My weakness is not merely from my sinfulness, but is built into my being.  Such weakness is built in to inspire humility in my life.  I am dust.

When one of our dogs had puppies, one had a lot of health problems and had to be put down.  She was called "Grace."  Because she couldn't eat well and had so much trouble she took more time than the others and inspired our pity.  Our attention was on her because of her weakness, her "lost-ness."  We really hoped we could overcome them, but we couldn't.  That was a hard morning.

I imagine that the angels who "always see the face of [the] Father" always have his attention.  He is concerned about everyone, but especially his "little ones."  Their weakness inspires his pity, his mercy.  Like children that trust him to care for them and almost take it for granted (and actually do take it for granted at times), God's "little ones" have his attention and concern, much like Grace had ours.  God carefully watches those who humble themselves like children before him.

Jesus lets me see how humility draws that heart of God.  Lowliness keeps the Father closely following my life.  If I think I can "go it" without him, he will let me try.  If I remember how I am formed from dust and how my weakness shows my need of God, he will eagerly search for me, much like a shepherd feverishly looks for his lost sheep.  Jesus shows a God who cares deeply for humility.

One of the dangers of associating humility too closely with my sinfulness is that it becomes equated with humiliation.  Sometimes humiliation can bring about humility, but more often it brings resentment.  When God wants to humble me, he doesn't want to humiliate me.  He wants me to find fullness and life, not emptiness and misery.  He wants to lift me up, not break me.

Sometimes I cannot see the difference in what I experience, but I can tell the difference in what I hear as I go through such times.  What I mean is that the voice of God does not say "I told you so" or "Now you're getting what you got coming."  He aches and hurts with me.  The lower I go, the closer I find him.  Sometimes the pain blocks out his voice, but he never abandons me.  He always sends signs of his mercy.  I may not notice immediately, but in hindsight I am amazed at his provision.

When God humbles me, I find that joy is near.  I suppose that I may "humiliate" myself when I am being humble in some people's opinions, but that is what happens when you're in love.  That is what happens when you are truly grateful.  That is what happens when you've seen "the Pit" and been snatched from it.  That is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted, but whoever exalts himself will be humbled."  God humbles me with his greatness, his goodness, and his mercy, not with my emptiness, my unworthiness, and my misery.  Such lowliness which sees only God's greatness is that humility of Jesus.

Lord, bring me low by raising my vision of you.  You know how I am formed.  Show me the depth of your goodness, the breadth of your love, and the height of your glory in whatever way I can handle.  Today and forever.  Amen.