God’s Call to Humility

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. —Philippians 2:3

Have you ever noticed that the Bible never requires anything of us that the Son of God did not do Himself? The greatest hypocrisy in the world is putting demands on others that one would not do oneself. Everything that God asks of us, Jesus did on earth, yet we sometimes think when we first hear the call that it is something that we cannot bear to do because of the cost. This shows that our concern is merely with what we are going to have to relinquish and what our lifestyle would be like as a result. Indeed, that is our impulsive reaction the first time we hear any command from God. We are told that His commands are not heavy (1 John 5:3), yet we still think they are going to be. What we are told to do is to follow God’s way. Indeed, only a fool would turn his back on a request God makes.

It does not matter what the request is; that is part of God’s call to humility. That is emancipation, and it is worth it all, for everything that God requires of us is followed with commensurate grace.

Just as we are called by God to humility, so Jesus was called. You may have thought that it was not necessary for Jesus to do that. You may have thought Jesus was by nature meek and mild; after all, He did say, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). However, I think that some people have the idea that Jesus was what we would refer to in America as “square.” This is completely wrong.

Jesus was a real man. He became like us, and this is why the writer of Hebrews keeps talking about His humanity. Jesus was no “square” but showed His strength and power through what He endured. Jesus, in fact, was the most humble person that ever lived. Yet it was not a received humility: it was an achieved humility.

Excerpted from Meekness and Majesty (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1992, 2000).