05/17/2018
How humble do you find yourself to be? Are you strong enough to maintain your course of faith, and yet meek enough to do so without rippling the water around you? Are you bold in your humility before the cross, or do you carry your faith before you like a sharp sword? As we approach Pentecost we can’t help but compare ourselves to the apostles before they received the Holy Spirit, and with those same men after the Spirit had come upon them... they left behind their desire to be first on that day, and became images of Jesus.
“But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”
Luke 22:26 ESV
My mother used to have a saying that went like this... “you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar,” and she would say it to me often as I bulldozed my way through my young life. I was full of energy and self assurance and these traits often manifested themselves as being cocky, confrontational, and as someone who thought they were the best.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
For a young boy who could be seen carrying a jar full of honeybees and bumblebees around with him, and prided himself on how effortlessly he could catch them by opening the lid just enough, and quickly enough, to capture another bee without letting those in the jar escape, this use of honey seemed like a poor way to catch bees, and it wasn’t until I had matured that the wisdom of her saying became apparent. The epiphany finally came, but I really don’t remember it’s exact arrival. I do know that my understanding of her wisdom, and its strength in humility, came hand in hand.
In the lives of the apostles we can easily identify the moment of change in them. Sure they were being taught humility throughout their discipleship, but a moment of inward discovery, or great change came on them during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was breathed onto them. Suddenly the lesson of bold humility took effect, and they assumed the image of Christ...
“On Pentecost He came and took possession of the Church. The lives and the epistles of James and Peter and John bear witness that all had changed, and that the spirit of the meek and suffering Jesus had taken possession of them.
It is only where we, like the Son, truly know and show that we can do nothing of ourselves that God will do everything.” - Andrew Murray
Catching bees with honey seemed to be a waste of good honey to a brown skinned and barefoot boy who ran roughshod through the summer fields of clover, but as life progressed and faith matured, the wisdom in drawing people to you by serving them rather than attempting to order them around, or defending your authority by confronting them with fists suddenly became apparent. I changed from wanting to have my way, and being dominate over those around me, to loving them, and wanting the best for each of them... and me. I saw the value of honey, and that it was a way to use what each person worked hard to produce, and valued so much, as a way of leading them to valuable epiphanies in their lives, and more than that... faith. Force became humility, fists yielded to handshakes, and suddenly the idea of my being meek was a far cry from being weak... it was the outpouring of a strength I had never been able to grasp before.
Jesus didn’t force Himself upon others, and the only time the Bible record Him being aggressive was when He turned over the tables of the moneychangers in the temple. Yet crowds were drawn to Him. Certainly it led Him to the cross, but even there His humble nature gathered souls for the Kingdom of God, and still does to this very day. The way Jesus lived, the way He died, and the way He ascended into heaven all exhibited the bold nature of His humility. He maintained an uncompromising faith, and adherence to the will of God without pride, arrogance, or forcefulness. This is what He gave His disciples in Jerusalem, and it is what He gives us today... are you ready to receive it?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the humble nature of your Son Jesus Christ, and for the lessons in love by which He led me to you. Help me Father to be meek as Jesus was meek, and to love all of your children, even those who would despise and harm me. Give me the boldness of humility that would allow me to face my cross and still forgive those who have placed me there. In Christ I find you, and with you both, I long to abide forever. Guide my steps Holy Father, and teach me to raise little or no dust in my wake. Help me to walk with love among saints and sinners alike as I demonstrate your humility and love by my reflection of you. Keep my pride subdued, and my hubris from becoming a stumbling block to another’s faith. Let all I am be of use to someone else’s walk of faith. Great are you Gracious Father, and bold is your humility that allowed you to stoop low for me. Praised be your name, for Holy, Holy, Holy, are you.
“So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”
John 5:19 ESV
Rich Forbes