Have you ever noticed how backwards Jesus’ way of doing life is compared to how most of our cultures and worldviews communicate it should be? The first shall be last. The foolish will confound the wise. Weakness is required for strength.
I love how when Jesus walked the earth, He did everything in a way that was unexpected. He didn’t come as a war hero who was going to break off the rule of Rome from Israel, but rather a humble baby who grew up to work as a carpenter and then travel as a poor teacher. He didn’t lead a conquering army into Jerusalem but rode a donkey and submitted to death on purpose. Jesus didn’t brush shoulders with the religious elite, but instead went to find the hurting, the sick, the demon-possessed, the lost and the rejected. His followers were not great minds or incredibly pious people, but fisherman, tax collectors, prostitutes, and those who belonged to a disrespected class.
Isn’t it interesting, then, that so many who claim Jesus as Lord seek wealth, power over others, status and use manipulation, spiritual abuse and evil to try to gain it? This was never His way and continues to be an affront to His Life when His name is claimed in this awfulness.
The most impacting people in my life have not been the showy, “important” spiritual leaders, but rather those who lead in humility, with love and grace extended over and over. One of these was a pastor who just died, and in remembering him and his kindness to me, I was amazed at the tenderness God displays to us through people who are willing to be humble and go where He sends them. This pastor was willing to lead a tiny church of rejects who met in the basement of a coffee shop each week, and teach that messy bunch to do family and Church in a way we had never experienced before. He wasn’t famous, or rich or leading the helm of a powerful group of people. This man saw people as they were, not as they were posturing to be, and offered kindness. He was called to a humble walk, and did it with eagerness.
Mike Wells talked of the Divine Exchange—how God takes you out to bring you in, how He brings strength in weakness, how He exalts the humble. Jesus was a demonstration of emptying Himself of any self-promotion or pride (even though He was God!!) and humbling Himself to become what we needed and what we couldn’t do for ourselves. And He continues to do that through His Life in us.
This is my great desire in following Jesus—that people would not see a woman posturing for position or reacting in pride and self-defense, but rather a weak woman with a big God who walks as Jesus does. I want to serve in humility, to embrace and be vulnerable with my weakness, and to admit when I do it wrong. I know I don’t always get all of that right, but that is my heart’s cry. Intimacy with Jesus is the birthplace of all of these qualities, and He alone can empower us through His Life within to act in an unexpected way not according to cultural norms or definitions of success.
When you don’t have enough, rejoice because it is a way for you to see how Christ will be enough through you. When you are weak, celebrate because you can access the strength of God’s power within you. When you are rejected, thank God that your acceptance doesn’t come through people and now you can see that more clearly and enjoy the acceptance and love He provides. God takes every circumstance and turns it on its head, and that means that nothing is too much, too broken, too stupid or too bad for Him to bring good out of it.
He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human! He humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names! The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm. And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,” bringing glory and honor to God, his Father! Philippians 2:6-11
So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together for good, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. Romans 8:28