Humble

Philippians 2: 8

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus took on the form of humanity so that He could lead us into true harmony with our Father God. He did not present Himself as a King or an honored person of any kind. He came as a servant to all.

I am moved by this image of Jesus as so humble and obedient that not even death, not even a horrible death, could sway Him from His committed passion for us and the Father. This is the image of a man who was not here to serve His own selfish interests but rather to pay the price of reconciliation so that the Father and His children could become one again.

If we are truly to imitate Christ, then our imitation must be foremost in humility and obedience. This idea is critically important for us to grasp. Our task isn’t about feeding the hungry or clothing the homeless. It is not about working at church or building a home for the needy. Those are the manifestations of our having gotten ourselves so right with God that we have absolutely learned to humble our needs and desires to the direction of God. Humility is all about getting us off of our minds. It is the call to put other people before your wants and even your needs. It is not about you! It is about Jesus. He has called us to himself that we might be His hands in this earth. But even more importantly, we are to be His heart in the earth.

We must learn radical obedience and honest humility. Let us give ourselves over to the Father completely. See what He can do with you. Let go of yourself and your own control. Let go of all that you are telling Him that you want and just ask Him what He wants. Ask Him to allow you a chance to be obedient. Give Him yourself, your dreams and desires. Then let Him fill you with all that He would do with you. Humble yourself to His great desire and gratefully obey.

Walking

John 5: 30

I can do nothing of my own initiative.

If Jesus could do nothing of his own initiative, what makes me think I can do anything of my own initiative. I am trying to get a big revelation of this verse and what Jesus was conveying to us. In verse 19 of this same chapter Jesus said that he could do nothing of Himself, only what he saw the Father doing. As I pondered these couple of verses the story of Jesus walking on the water came to mind. I am trying to understand what happened as Jesus approached the water.

Jesus earlier sent his disciples on ahead of him in the boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus prepared to follow them I presume he walked down to the water’s edge. Did he look for a boat for hire or one to borrow and there were none available? What happened next? If Jesus only did the things he saw his father do then he must have had some sort of revelation from God; a vision, a memory, about walking as a viable means of transport across bodies of water. Did He see in his spirit God walking before him on the water and so just launched out following the father? Did God show Jesus an image in his mind’s eye of Jesus walking on the water with God the Father?

I just don’t know but we know that Jesus did nothing of his own initiative. Therefore, God initiated Jesus’ stroll on the sea of Galilea. We also know that Jesus could do only those things which he saw His father do so God had to have, in some way, demonstrated walking on water. I am guessing that God didn’t sit down on the edge of the lake with Jesus and explain the physics of water molecule cohesion to him. He didn’t give him a course on water walking, I don’t believe. No, it seems to me that perhaps Jesus had to receive the concept by faith. 

Jesus didn’t explain the physics to Peter either. Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and emulated him. Paul told his disciples, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11: 1).  That is our essential model. Jesus is only doing what he witnesses his Father doing so we are to imitate Jesus as he imitates the Father.

Stop striving, stop trying, stop planning all your moves. Put your eyes on Jesus and just walk.