July 21, 2008

Good Monday!

            It’s funny how some things that happened so long ago kind of pop into your mind for what seems like no reason at all.  Last evening Denise was going through many of the 57,998 pictures that we have taken over the past 30 years and putting some albums in order.  What she was trying to do I think was put pictures of the recent weddings together and while looking through pictures she went down memory lane.  She found some correspondence between my mother and our oldest son, Tim that she had saved. He was writing some kind of paper about his grandparents (and I can’t remember what grade he was in) and he had written to my parents (and also to his other grandparents) to get the needed information.  Of course, as soon as Denise handed me the envelope I immediately recognized my mother’s handwriting.  Though she and my father have been gone for over 7 years now, I was able to recognize that it was from her.  It was one of those documents that just put a smile on my face as I recalled the two of them sharing their stories (that I had heard many times before).

            For some reason I was thinking of my 13^th birthday and some of the arrogant behavior that I demonstrated at that age.  I can remember telling my dad that he was an old man (he was only 39) and that there was no way that he could beat me in a foot race.  I think he was telling one of his stories about his youth and I challenged him to a foot race.  It was going to be more of a dash than anything of distance so the two of us went half a block down the street and someone gave us the “Ready, Set, Go!” command.  I can remember that we were neck and neck all the way toward the finish line and then for no reason that I could think of my dad dove for the finish line.  Thinking back on that event he may have lost his footing and was falling.  But the next thing I notice is that he had crossed the finish line on his back.  It was obvious that he was in a tremendous amount of pain but he just looked at me and said, “So hot shot, thought you could beat me did you?”  I was put in my place.  Now the end of the story is that in dad’s dramatic finish to the famous foot race, he broke his arm (the elbow if I remember correctly) and the subsequent trip to the Emergency Room and the arm placed in a sling served as a badge of victory.  As a matter of fact the very last words I ever spoke to my father before he and my mother died was, “So do you feel well enough to take me on in a foot race?”  They had met me in a restaurant as they were heading to Florida for the winter. He said that he felt pretty good—but not that good.  Two weeks later, they were both gone, having died of pneumonia. 

            I know that in my younger years I was a very arrogant, self-centered young man.  It is certainly one of the character traits that I am least proud of.  But over the many years of following Christ, I really feel that he has honed me in this area and for this I give Him the glory.

            I was going through an old journal this morning and came across a passage in Isaiah that I wrote about.  In Isaiah 66:2 the prophet writes: “This is the one I [the Lord] esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Now the people that Isaiah was addressing here, the people of Israel, were the exact opposite of the kind of person that Isaiah is describing.  The nation was proud and arrogant.  If you will, they were acting like a 13-year-old boy who arrogantly was challenging his dad.  In the next verse, the nation of Israel is described as those who have chosen their own way.  Unfortunately, in the end, the nation was thrown over by their enemies and the Israelites were banished from their promised land into captivity.  In the long run, their arrogance and pride led to their destruction.

            Humility is something that God desires of His people.  Perhaps the most humble example we have is that of Jesus, who Paul says, “…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, humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8)

            I would encourage you this week that as you live each day, ask yourself if you are living in humility.  We need to always keep ourselves in check to make sure that we put others before ourselves.  The great news is that when we practice humility God will lift us up and shower us with esteem.  I appreciate it when God shows me that I need to be more humble.  I encourage you to allow God to keep you humble.  Because if we do, there is a great reward: He will lift us up.  Look at what He did for Jesus (as we finish the Philippians passage): “Therefore God exalted him [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (vv. 9-11)

            Now no one will bow to you (because we are not Jesus) but God will lift you up and others will notice.  So let’s agree to be humble servants of our Lord Jesus Christ—and let the lifting up belong to God.  Now God won’t dive toward the finish like and break something to make his point.  He will gently bring you to a point where you will certainly know that He is working on your life in this area.

            Have a great week and may God keep you safe this week.

Pastor Tim