Come Humbly to Jesus (Being Like the Sinful Woman Part 3)
This is the third part of my blog series on Being like the Sinful Woman which was originally published during Lent 2019. I introduced the story of the sinful woman from Luke 7 in Part 1. Please start there if you have not read it already.
The sinful woman from Luke 7 possessed seven attributes that are indispensable when coming to Jesus. The second of those attributes is humility. As the nineteenth century South African preacher, Andrew Murray pointed out, "[w]ithout humility, there can be no true dwelling in God's presence or enjoying His favor and the power of His Spirit." (Humility, p.3) .
The sinful woman came humbly to Jesus. When she came into His holy presence she did not deem herself worthy to even speak to Him. She simply fell to her knees and began kissing His feet. Then she cleaned the dirt from them, like a lowly slave. What a beautiful demonstration of the humility this woman felt in the presence of her Lord. She recognized her place was on the floor at His feet, serving Him.
God promises to exalt the humble, but he will bring the haughty low. (Psalm 18:27 and Matt. 23:12). Therefore, I know that I should "humble [myself] before the Lord, and he will exalt [me]." (James 4:10). But the sin of pride is strong within me. As that great Anglican C.S. Lewis points out, the worst sin of all is pride, because pride is the source of all other sins. (Mere Christianity, p. 234). Pride caused the fall of Lucifer and pride caused the fall of man. It has wreaked havoc not only on society as a whole, but specifically within my life. That is why it is essential that I recognize that my proper place is not seated on Christ's left or right. It is not even being his buddy. My proper place before Jesus is on my knees at His feet, serving Him like a lowly slave. If, in His generous mercy, He decides to exalt me to a higher position than slave one day, then so be it. But until that happens, it is best to recognize how high and holy he is and how low and sinful I am.
I must embrace humility and understand that it "is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all. When the creature realizes that this is true goodness, and consents to be the vessel in which the life and glory of God are to work and exhibit themselves, he sees that humility is simply acknowledging the truth of his position as the creature, and yielding to God His rightful place." (Andrew Murray, Humility, p.4).
Today's prayer:
Most gracious Lord, please strip me of my destructive pride and give me a humble heart, so that I may recognize my place at Your feet, obediently serving You forever.