A Closer Walk
Grace and humility. Ever thought about how closely related these two characteristics are? The Vacation Bible School definition of grace is, "God's Riches At Christ's Expense. "Merriam-Webster defines grace as, "unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification; approval, favor; mercy, pardon." Merriam-Webster defines humility as, "the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people; freedom from pride or arrogance; the quality or state of being humble."
Unmerited divine assistance. Freedom from pride or arrogance. As Christians we understand that God's grace toward us is unmerited. We can't earn it or buy it. We also understand that all people and peoples are created in the image of God. And that certainly includes us, you and me. And so they are equal to us, and we are equal to them; all created in the image of God. "Ethnicity is sacred. Because it was given by God," Ravi Zacharias, modern day Christian apologist who sadly passed away in 2020. (Christian apologists defend the faith, not apologize for it as the term seems to imply.)
One of the secrets to Sam Walton's success with Wal-Mart was that he believed he was no better than anyone else; and certainly not better than the people that worked in his stores. He had a different job than those who worked in the stores, but he was no better than they. Jesus humbled Himself to the point of becoming a man. "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, even though He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men," Philippians 2:5-7 NASB. God the Son voluntarily surrendered His "Godness,” if we can use that term, and came to earth as a man. Must have been extremely humbling for Him. And who is our example to follow, our role model to emulate? The Lord Jesus Christ of course.
If we offer others grace aren't we being humble? If we are being humble, won't we offer others grace? Grace and humility seem like they might go hand in hand. Our God has given us and shown us grace. Shouldn't we do the same for all those created in His image? Jesus gave up, voluntarily, His Godly standing, equality, and privileges to be born of a woman and to live here on earth as a man. Isn't that a wonderful example to follow? As believers we shouldn't compare ourselves to other people. (Hint: we will always pick someone who we think has further to go in being more like Christ than we do.) We should instead compare ourselves to The Only Begotten, and use Him as our template. If we do that we will always come up short. Meaning we will always have something to work on in order for us to become more like Christ our Savior.
Isn't a new year with its new beginning a good time for us to emphasize working toward being more like The Lord Jesus?
“He will give me grace and glory, He will give me grace and glory, He will give me grace and glory, And go with me, with me all the way. Where He leads me I will follow, Where He leads me I will follow, Where He leads me I will follow, I'll go with Him, with Him all the way.” Fourth verse and refrain from the hymn “I can hear my Savior calling, I can hear my Savior calling,” words by E. W. Blandly, born 1849 in England, date of death unknown. Music “I can hear my Savior calling,” written by a Mr. Norris; unable to find anything about him.