Re:Verse reading–Luke 4:14-30 (day seven)
Human nature tends to cause us to think of ourselves uniquely. Our heart tells our mind that we would never fall down the same traps as everyone else. Warned of great danger ahead, we scoff, thinking we are different somehow than all the other people who have ever walked this earth. We do this with Jesus too. He calls us into discipleship with him, and as He tries to shape us we give Him that “unique” spiel, “Jesus I’m different than all those other people, I don’t need the restriction, I don’t need the beginner stuff. Just walk a mile in my shoes and you’ll see.”
In that moment, our pride is beaming. We mean well, but our self-assessment is flawed beyond comprehension. Jesus did walk a mile in our shoes. He came down to earth to show us exactly what He would do this week if He were in our shoes. Frankly, He didn’t even have to show us, it was already written in Isaiah.
If Jesus were walking in your shoes this week he would take care of the poor, he would take care of the captive, he would take care of the blind, he would take care of the oppressed, he would take care of the widows, and he would take care of the foreign lepers. Jesus would seek out those things this week. He is here to help whomever is in spiritual or physical trouble today. Jesus already walked two miles in your shoes, and that is what he did. What are you going to do?
Great topic! God loved and still loves imperfect people and people who are vulnerable in society. In my own definition, imperfect and vulnerable people are those who are less fortunate than others in physical or in spiritual foundation or who are in pain and suffering physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and so on.
God is all about love. He taught us love and humility. I think pride may lead us to the path of unloving, uncaring, self-centered and to putting others down instead of building up the people around us! Pride is self-centered while humility is God-centered. Self becomes the center for all motivations and aspirations. We build up ourselves instead of building up the people around us. When pride is in our heart, we show that we are better than those around us and that creates the division in relationships.
God is all about relationship. Humility helps build relationships. Pride can be a problem when we compare our perceived accomplishments with others’ accomplishments. We use our own standards for our pride to satisfy our own ego.
One way to minimize our earthly pride is to look at God’s standards and ask ourselves these questions: 1) whom are we comparing ourselves with and for what purpose? 2) How far have we accomplished what God has expected for us to do? 3) How far have we worked together as God’s children to accomplish His mission?
God’s mission will stay until Jesus returns. Good reminder of what Jesus did and what He expected for His church to continue.