humility
Whew. I feel like I just got run over by a truck. I guess I did. It was being driven by four crazy kids and was loaded down with laundry and dirty dishes. Does it ever feel like your life is just one big lather, rinse, repeat? I know my life hasn’t always been consumed with washing and cleaning everything or body that can be cleaned and that it won’t always be. But it’s just hard to remember it or imagine it being anything else.
I’m just wondering if it’s normal for a 34-year-old body to ache as much as mine does right now. Maybe after three loads of laundry, five beds with clean sheets, one haircut given, one batch of bread baked, two baths given, one dinner of oh-so-delicious fajitas, salsa, and guacamole prepared, and one mound of dirty dishes washed it’s normal for one’s back to be screaming for a massage.
In a completely unrelated topic, the other day, Luke came running into the bathroom as I was getting ready for the day and started in with, “Mama, Jack was…”
I quickly interrupted him with a gentle reminder that “Luke, we don’t tattle on each other.”
“But, Mama, Jack-“
“Luke! Do not tattle on Jack. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Mama! I’m not gonna tattle. I’m just gonna tell on him.”
I can clearly see that we need to go over the definition of tattling again.
That’s what the Lord has been doing with me lately. You know that 2012 is the “Year of Humility” for me. (Please imagine a big, echoing voice saying that.) Humility is a common word and concept in the church world, but one I think is grossly misunderstood. Or maybe it’s just me who’s a dope, which is entirely possible. The Lord has been expanding my understanding of humility and completely redefining it for me in both theological and practical ways.
Humility really is the key to the Kingdom of God, yet we fail to grasp that key and unlock all the treasure that is available to us. In my treasure hunt for more of God, I feel that He’s slowly showing me the value and use of this precious key. We miss so much of what He has for us because we are wrapped up in ourselves, our happiness, our own ideas of what’s good and bad, right and wrong. We are consumed with our own reputations, our rights, and how others see us. When we fail, we beat ourselves mercilessly until we think maybe we’ve satisfied God’s requirement for punishment and then get up and try to do it right the next time, but still in our own strength. Our eyes are continually focused on ourselves.
Humility is really, as John the Baptist said, when we decrease and Jesus increases. God is all; we are nothing. Our thoughts and desires are directed toward our Heavenly Father and not toward ourselves. We disappear until He is all that is seen. We are no longer focused on ourselves or our sin, but our gaze is fully placed on God. We finally get that, in ourselves, we can do nothing, but God can and will take care of everything in the best possible way. It's a life that screams, "Hey, folks, this ain't about me! It's all Him!"
This plays out in every aspect of our lives and our relationships with God and others. I’m still grasping and seeking to know how it will play out in mine. But I know that it isn’t something I can muster up or do better at or learn. It is something that God must give me, a prideful and selfish person. So I continue to ask, praying that I will accept the things that humble me with joy, thanking God for giving me the priceless key to things eternal.
I basically want to quote tons and tons of amazing stuff from Andrew Murray’s humility, but I’m not really sure it’s legal. But I’d completely recommend that you read it. Also, the Bible is a good go-to for a little insight on the topic. (Hee, hee.) The overarching characteristic of Jesus Christ is His humility. Take a look at Him and let God redefine humility in your life. I mean, who hasn't always wanted the key to a treasure box?
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
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.
Philippians 2
I’m just wondering if it’s normal for a 34-year-old body to ache as much as mine does right now. Maybe after three loads of laundry, five beds with clean sheets, one haircut given, one batch of bread baked, two baths given, one dinner of oh-so-delicious fajitas, salsa, and guacamole prepared, and one mound of dirty dishes washed it’s normal for one’s back to be screaming for a massage.
In a completely unrelated topic, the other day, Luke came running into the bathroom as I was getting ready for the day and started in with, “Mama, Jack was…”
I quickly interrupted him with a gentle reminder that “Luke, we don’t tattle on each other.”
“But, Mama, Jack-“
“Luke! Do not tattle on Jack. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Mama! I’m not gonna tattle. I’m just gonna tell on him.”
I can clearly see that we need to go over the definition of tattling again.
That’s what the Lord has been doing with me lately. You know that 2012 is the “Year of Humility” for me. (Please imagine a big, echoing voice saying that.) Humility is a common word and concept in the church world, but one I think is grossly misunderstood. Or maybe it’s just me who’s a dope, which is entirely possible. The Lord has been expanding my understanding of humility and completely redefining it for me in both theological and practical ways.
Humility really is the key to the Kingdom of God, yet we fail to grasp that key and unlock all the treasure that is available to us. In my treasure hunt for more of God, I feel that He’s slowly showing me the value and use of this precious key. We miss so much of what He has for us because we are wrapped up in ourselves, our happiness, our own ideas of what’s good and bad, right and wrong. We are consumed with our own reputations, our rights, and how others see us. When we fail, we beat ourselves mercilessly until we think maybe we’ve satisfied God’s requirement for punishment and then get up and try to do it right the next time, but still in our own strength. Our eyes are continually focused on ourselves.
Humility is really, as John the Baptist said, when we decrease and Jesus increases. God is all; we are nothing. Our thoughts and desires are directed toward our Heavenly Father and not toward ourselves. We disappear until He is all that is seen. We are no longer focused on ourselves or our sin, but our gaze is fully placed on God. We finally get that, in ourselves, we can do nothing, but God can and will take care of everything in the best possible way. It's a life that screams, "Hey, folks, this ain't about me! It's all Him!"
This plays out in every aspect of our lives and our relationships with God and others. I’m still grasping and seeking to know how it will play out in mine. But I know that it isn’t something I can muster up or do better at or learn. It is something that God must give me, a prideful and selfish person. So I continue to ask, praying that I will accept the things that humble me with joy, thanking God for giving me the priceless key to things eternal.
I basically want to quote tons and tons of amazing stuff from Andrew Murray’s humility, but I’m not really sure it’s legal. But I’d completely recommend that you read it. Also, the Bible is a good go-to for a little insight on the topic. (Hee, hee.) The overarching characteristic of Jesus Christ is His humility. Take a look at Him and let God redefine humility in your life. I mean, who hasn't always wanted the key to a treasure box?
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
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.
Philippians 2
Very true. Like you were saying
ReplyDeletethis morning, "giving the same things to your neighbor as you have yourself and not giving them your leftovers".
Very well said, Amy! I am right here with you ... learning to let HIS light shine instead of being worried about my own. Love you!
ReplyDelete