God is Humble

Matthew 11:29:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Yeshua preached to the masses that He was humble in heart.  He is our God in flesh.  Yeshua Messiah, God Almighty, proclaimed Himself...  to be humble.

I don't know about you, but that blows my mind.  It goes against everything this world tells us.  It rubs us the wrong way.  Someone in authority, with grand power, should be high and lifted up.  Puffed up with pride.  Looked upon in awe.  Cowered away from.  Someone to be frightened of.  We often picture God On High with a lightning bolt or a mad look on His face, ready to smite mankind.

But Yeshua called Himself "gentle and humble in heart."

I often wonder about God's nature.  He's Holy, He's Love, and His Love is Humble.  True love IS humble.  Think about it.  We are more often drawn to people who are sincere, who don't seem to know their own worth, who smile often and give with an open, willing heart.  But those who feel entitled, who walk on others to get to the top, who steal, lie, cheat, and maybe even kill to get what they want, we feel no love for them at all.

True Love is humble.  And in that, so is God, because God IS Love.  

Everything about Yeshua was humble.  He was born in a manger.  He lived in Nazareth.  He was a carpenter's (adopted) son.  He had no permanent home after coming into His ministry.  He was not rich, revered, or even worshiped, except, perhaps, by His disciples after they fully realized Who He was.   And He even taught His disciples how to be humble themselves.

Peter wouldn't have it.  He refused to have Yeshua wash his feet.  "No," he said.  "You will never wash my feet!"  (John 13:8)  You see, Peter thought of Christ as we all do, our LORD.  We should be washing HIS feet.  We are not worthy for Him to touch us and soil Himself with the caked-on dirt from the road!  But Yeshua says in verse 9, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

Immediately, Peter cried, "Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

The lesson Yeshua taught that day was that our LORD cleanses us Himself.  HE makes us clean.  He does not need us to cleanse Him.  But also, even Someone as awesome and amazing as the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE isn't above getting dirty to wash someone's nasty feet.  He proved that day that Yahweh is Humble.

Once I truly internalized this, I began thinking of other things.  God is quite fond of saying things like: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." ~1 Corinthians 1:27   

 

This idea of God's humility wouldn't let me go.  I got to thinking about our planet.  It's one speck of blue circling a non-descript, mediocre yellow star in the far arm of a random spiral galaxy that is parked in a bunch of fifty-some-odd galaxies called the Local Group.  Why?  Why is the earth in a "humble" place?  We don't circle a colossal red giant and we aren't camped out in a fabulously-arrayed nebula.  Our planet isn't huge, and we have never witnessed or come in contact with any life on another planet.  Out of this ENTIRE, ENORMOUS universe, God chose an infinitesimal little rock to display His Majesty.  Why?

Because God is Humble.

Like Peter, we wrestle with the idea that an Almighty God would care about us so much that He would get down in the trenches WITH us.  WE should be washing HIS feet.  Why would He bother?  If He had all the glory and power in the universe, why would He care about some random anthill in the boondocks?  God's humility answers that question. 

He uses the weak to confound the strong.  And He MAKES the weak strong in Him.  

If True Love is shown through humility, then God must give us a demonstration to teach us how to walk in love.  And that's exactly what He did in Yeshua.

He loves us because it is His nature to Love, and He chooses to humble Himself, to be involved in our affairs and even live among us, because it is Love's very nature to be clothed in humility.

God has no use for proud people.  It is the proud who look to themselves for salvation, gods of their own universe, masters of their own fate.  Proud people are constantly reminding everyone how awesome they are.  They want all the glory for themselves and they take it, sometimes by force.

But the humble are generous, givers, lovers, and they put others before themselves.  These are the ones God strives after.  Christ Himself was the blueprint for a life lived in humility.  Everything He asks us to do for Him -- HE DID FOR US. He put our eternal salvation before His eternal glory.  He loved us so much that He thought nothing of leaving His Throne for a life lived in dust, sweat, and heartache.

 

God did not think of Himself when He came into this world as a helpless infant.  He was thinking of US.  This is the ultimate act of humility from our very Creator, Who loves humble little creatures on a humble little planet in a humble little galaxy in our humble little corner of this vast universe.

I, for one, am so VERY glad our God is a Humble God.  If He puts no great esteem on any of His possessions -- save for US -- then likewise, I will put no great esteem on any of MY possessions -- save for Him.

Amen.  To GOD be the glory.  Now and forevermore.

~~Becka