This past week I was thinking about the baby in the manger.
God in the manger.
The Creator of the Universe and everything in it, lying, naked and helpless, alone and poor, in the manger.
Our example of humility.
I know we’ve all heard it – how he left the glory and power of His throne in Heaven. How, when God needed a sacrifice, Jesus stepped down, handed over his crown and said, “Father, I’ll go.” How he allowed himself to be so humbled.
I know we get all of that. But what I was thinking about this week was how that applies to me.
How his example, specifically, applies to me.
He gave up Heaven for a life of poverty. How many earthly possessions have I given up?
He gave up the accolades of creating the earth, the universe and beyond, for the life of a carpenter. How many accolades have I turned away from?
He gave up tens of thousands of angels who were waiting to do his bidding and became a servant himself, washing the feet of his disciples and healing the sick and lame. How much of a servant have I been?
He was accused of heinous crimes and did not defend himself, even though he could have easily won that argument. Rather, he allowed himself to be crucified to pay for MY sin. When have I ever not defended myself? When have I ever walked away from an argument I could win? When I have I ever kept my mouth shut when accused of someone else’s crimes and willingly paid the price for them?
And even still, He continues to teach us humility by his example.
He loves without expecting love in return – that takes humility.
He gives without thought of receiving for himself – that takes humility.
He keeps silent while being mocked and disrespected – that takes humility.
He could force every single person in the world to bow in reverence to him, but he allows free choice – that takes humility. (And so many times my “free choice” is to live my life my way, doing what I want, pleasing myself, doing what is convenient and searching after my own glory, rather than glorifying the One who enables me to do everything including taking my next breath.)
You know, something else I was thinking on. Jesus was God. He could have done so much more with his life. I mean, he didn’t go to college. He had no degree. He wasn’t a surgeon, a renowned researcher, an A-list movie star. He was just a carpenter and not even a famous one. Surely he could have lived up to his potential – his intelligence, his education, his talent – and been more successful.
But that wasn’t God’s plan for his life.
Humility is also letting go of our ego, ignoring the calls of the people around us to try to convince us we’re not successful if we’re not doing what they want us to, and instead focusing on doing exactly what God wants us to do. (I’m not saying we should ignore the advice of our parents and the people around us who love us and want the best for us. I’m just saying so often their vision for us is not God’s vision for us. And what they consider “success” is not success in God’s eyes.)
God might just have a little corner of the world for us to brighten. Brighten it with all your heart and soul.
Jesus had a small ministry – just twelve disciples – and a very small area of ground that he covered. And yet, Christianity is practiced around the globe. He stayed focused on what God wanted, did it to the best of his ability, didn’t gripe and complain that God didn’t make him bigger. And God was able to take what he did and multiply it beyond human comprehension.
We tend to think of a humble person as someone who shuns the limelight, but that is just scratching the surface of humility.
Humility, at its core, is completely forgetting about yourself, your ego, your desires, and focusing on others, while submitting to God’s plan for your life. Just a simple explanation, and yet we could spend a lifetime learning to become humble.
Yesterday, as I considered the manger, I thought of the extreme humility it represented, the humble life lived from the manger to the cross. And I considered that to follow Christ requires me to follow that example – to give up my life and my will and the things I want and surrender to God’s perfect plan.
That’s the humility the manger challenges us to. The humility of giving up everything we can’t keep anyway to gain that which is valuable beyond measure. Why do we resist?