The Gospel's Power to Humble

The human heart, by nature, is selfish and proud. Although it may be disguised at times in self pity or selfishly motivated humility, we must admit that being humble does not come "natural". And in a country and culture where self-worth, self-esteem, and pride is esteemed, being humble is all the more of a struggle. Yet, for the Christian, it is a command. Jesus himself called for a denial of self in order to be one of His disciples. And He goes further in summing up all the commandments into two; love Him first, and then love others...making you and me, number three. I'll be the first to admit that both of these characteristics that should define a Christ follower are struggles for me daily. My flesh is weak and although the Spirit is willing and able, I so often fail to draw from Him, and end up falling prey to my own fleshly wants and desires. I find myself like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 saying, " For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing" (v19). And yet there is one thing that can humble me to my knees, one thing I must meditate more and more on, and preach continually to my heart- The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As Christmas comes this week I have been daily reminded of the Gospel. I can't think of the little baby in the manger without immediately thinking about the man on the cross. I am dumbfounded when I recognize the weight of what happened during the transaction that day. And I am humbled beyond understanding when I recall the events of Christ's birth, life, and death. The God of the universe, coming to earth as a baby, in a stable? It sounds foolish. And then He goes further, purposefully planned, and dies the most heinous death possible, never once opening his mouth in rebuke or wrath. That kind of humility is out of this world, it is perfect in every way. It demands my worship, adoration, living.

And the message as Paul calls it in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God", is truly the most humbling. It forces a sinner to their knees, to a recognition of the true state of self, and to a humbling reality that there is no hope within the human race. It demands repentance. And yet, while devastating the pride of the individual and humiliating the person to their knees, it offers the sweetest of promises, the greatest of joys, and the most wonderful of hopes. It is humbling, but in the most satisfying way. A salvation that is solely His to give and freely ours to cling to. How precious, how great is this Truth.

My heart's hope is that this Christmas season will spur on a year of continual reflecting on the Gospel message. It is the only message that will bring about true humility as we live for Him each day, and enable us to selflessly live a life for the glory of His name!