Down is the New Up
“For the devil is farsighted; he looks only for what is big, and high and attaches himself to that; he does not look at that which is low down and beneath himself.” (Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never I Knew, Harper Collins, 1995)
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!" Phil 2:5-8 (NIV)
The economy of the kingdom sometimes seems backward to us. Jesus taught that the least on the earth would be the greatest in the kingdom. He taught that being a servant was the best way to lead. He modeled it to a tee.
“Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When we think of ourselves in lofty terms, we draw the most attention from the enemy. He loves to knock people down to size. That’s why the devil blew it when it came to Jesus. In Jesus’ humility, the enemy saw weakness. In Jesus’ servanthood, he saw a pushover. Little did he know that God was traveling incognito. By humbling himself Jesus didn’t attract much attention from the devil. In fact, the most attention Jesus got was from self-righteous religious people. The religious took it upon themselves to initiate his death in complicity with the devil. In doing so, they unwittingly unleashed the fullness of the plan of redemption.
There is a very real but subtle difference between humility and being humiliated. Jesus lived in humility and the result was the humiliation of the devil. The devil was looking for someone on a high horse to knock off and missed the warrior on a stallion that conquered the principalities of darkness. The enemy was looking for someone who lived haughty in spirit and missed the one clothed in humility.
Lay low, don’t attract too much attention to yourself. God will lift you up and use you in great ways in His time
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!" Phil 2:5-8 (NIV)
The economy of the kingdom sometimes seems backward to us. Jesus taught that the least on the earth would be the greatest in the kingdom. He taught that being a servant was the best way to lead. He modeled it to a tee.
“Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When we think of ourselves in lofty terms, we draw the most attention from the enemy. He loves to knock people down to size. That’s why the devil blew it when it came to Jesus. In Jesus’ humility, the enemy saw weakness. In Jesus’ servanthood, he saw a pushover. Little did he know that God was traveling incognito. By humbling himself Jesus didn’t attract much attention from the devil. In fact, the most attention Jesus got was from self-righteous religious people. The religious took it upon themselves to initiate his death in complicity with the devil. In doing so, they unwittingly unleashed the fullness of the plan of redemption.
There is a very real but subtle difference between humility and being humiliated. Jesus lived in humility and the result was the humiliation of the devil. The devil was looking for someone on a high horse to knock off and missed the warrior on a stallion that conquered the principalities of darkness. The enemy was looking for someone who lived haughty in spirit and missed the one clothed in humility.
Lay low, don’t attract too much attention to yourself. God will lift you up and use you in great ways in His time
Labels: humility, servanthood
posted by jawbone at
1:29 PM
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