A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 5
The Humility of Christmas
As we think about Christmas, few of us probably consider the humility of Christmas. In fact, I am not even confident that I can put it in words, or that my words will do it justice. Still, I would like to invite you to look at the humility of Christmas just a little differently as we prepare to celebrate one of the greatest Christian holidays ever (and if you are wondering why I said “one of,” it’s because for me, Christmas and Easter are equally important…you cannot have one without the other).
If we were to do an honest and thorough survey of the Old Testament, there are a number of places that refer to Jesus (the pre-incarnate eternal Christ). We know, or at least by now should know, that Jesus is eternal and that He always was as the second in authority of the triune God that we worship.
Some of the places that we see Jesus acknowledged in the Old Testament are places like Genesis 3:15, where the coming Seed will crush the head of the serpent, or when we see Abraham take Isaac up the mountain and a Ram is entangled off to the side with his horns caught in the thickets, or the time Nebuchadnezzar put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace and then saw a fourth in there! Yes, there are many places in the Old Testament where we see the King of Kings living, thriving, and flourishing with His people.
For me, when I think of the humility of Christmas, it begins with His willingness to leave His eternal state or His home to become a helpless baby that is ultimately born in a nasty stall, with a poor family. One would think that the King could have done a little better for Himself, but how much more difficult would it be for us to relate to Him if that were the case? I mean, if He were born to an earthly king, then much of His identity would have resulted from an earthly family rather than who He really was. That friends, required a deal of great humility. He could have had it all, anytime, and He continuously chose to walk or live among the poor. One of the greatest passages regarding the humility of Christ, is found in Philippians when Paul writes:
Christ brought Himself from glory for glory. He brought Himself into our presence that we could experience Him not as the royal King He is, but as the loving God that He is. He is worthy of worship, He is worthy of us…but I know deep in my soul, that I will never be worthy of Him except by the blood of His cross. So, Jesus, Thank you. Thank you for loving me that much, thank you for loving mankind that much. Thank you for allowing me to experience you. And I know, one of the best ways that I can love you in return, is by being humble just as your word says in this passage. I thank you for your example, and I consider it an honor to humble myself in the same way. Will you do the same? Humble yourself this Christmas and let the love and the light of Jesus define what kind of person you will be and how you will celebrate? Please take a few moments and reflect on how the Lord is leading you…maybe even read the passage again and listen to what He has to say directly to you.
In His name and at His feet,
~Pastor Jeff
As we think about Christmas, few of us probably consider the humility of Christmas. In fact, I am not even confident that I can put it in words, or that my words will do it justice. Still, I would like to invite you to look at the humility of Christmas just a little differently as we prepare to celebrate one of the greatest Christian holidays ever (and if you are wondering why I said “one of,” it’s because for me, Christmas and Easter are equally important…you cannot have one without the other).
If we were to do an honest and thorough survey of the Old Testament, there are a number of places that refer to Jesus (the pre-incarnate eternal Christ). We know, or at least by now should know, that Jesus is eternal and that He always was as the second in authority of the triune God that we worship.
Some of the places that we see Jesus acknowledged in the Old Testament are places like Genesis 3:15, where the coming Seed will crush the head of the serpent, or when we see Abraham take Isaac up the mountain and a Ram is entangled off to the side with his horns caught in the thickets, or the time Nebuchadnezzar put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace and then saw a fourth in there! Yes, there are many places in the Old Testament where we see the King of Kings living, thriving, and flourishing with His people.
For me, when I think of the humility of Christmas, it begins with His willingness to leave His eternal state or His home to become a helpless baby that is ultimately born in a nasty stall, with a poor family. One would think that the King could have done a little better for Himself, but how much more difficult would it be for us to relate to Him if that were the case? I mean, if He were born to an earthly king, then much of His identity would have resulted from an earthly family rather than who He really was. That friends, required a deal of great humility. He could have had it all, anytime, and He continuously chose to walk or live among the poor. One of the greatest passages regarding the humility of Christ, is found in Philippians when Paul writes:
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:5-11
Christ brought Himself from glory for glory. He brought Himself into our presence that we could experience Him not as the royal King He is, but as the loving God that He is. He is worthy of worship, He is worthy of us…but I know deep in my soul, that I will never be worthy of Him except by the blood of His cross. So, Jesus, Thank you. Thank you for loving me that much, thank you for loving mankind that much. Thank you for allowing me to experience you. And I know, one of the best ways that I can love you in return, is by being humble just as your word says in this passage. I thank you for your example, and I consider it an honor to humble myself in the same way. Will you do the same? Humble yourself this Christmas and let the love and the light of Jesus define what kind of person you will be and how you will celebrate? Please take a few moments and reflect on how the Lord is leading you…maybe even read the passage again and listen to what He has to say directly to you.
In His name and at His feet,
~Pastor Jeff
Recent
Archive
2021
January
2020
January
March
April
May
November
A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 1A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 2A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 3A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 4A Thrill of Hope - Week 1: Day 5A Thrill of Hope - Week 2: Day 1A Thrill of Hope - Week 2: Day 2A Thrill of Hope - Week 2: Day 3A Thrill of Hope - Week 2: Day 4A Thrill of Hope - Week 2: Day 5A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 1
December
A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 2A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 3A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 4A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 5A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 1A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 2A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 3A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 4A Thrill of Hope - Week 4: Day 5A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 1A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 2A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 3A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 4A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 5
No Comments