To be HUMBLE is necessary
to stay on the
path of life!
As mentioned elsewhere, the Bible
shows that many people fell and did not get up because they did not humble
themselves in front of their Creator despite the numerous warnings given to
them.
To be humble is, on the contrary to
appearances, nothing despicable, quite the contrary. Knowing how to humble oneself when it is necessary is a remarkable quality.
Moreover, our Father is with those who are humble and have a contrite heart:
" For thus says the High
and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15)
Clay
in the hands of the potter.
Men are in the hands of Yehoah like clay in the hands of the potter. A man who
humbles himself before Him is like the clay that can be reshaped in the hands
of the potter (Jeremiah 18):
6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?”
says Yehoah. “Look, as the clay is in
the potter’s hand, so are you in My
hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak
concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down,
and to destroy it, 8 if that nation
against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the
disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the
instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to
plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will
relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yehoah: “Behold, I
am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your
doings good.”
To humble oneself is to be shaped by
our Father to become a unique being corresponding to his creative inspiration.
And as Paul wrote in Romans 9, some of us are made for honor while others are
for dishonor and we must accept it and do our best in both cases!
" 20 But indeed, O
man, who are you to reply against Elohim? Will the thing formed say to him who
formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter
have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and
another for dishonor? “
Let us never forget that our Father
chooses precisely those vile and despicable things so that no flesh would glory
in His presence. (I Corinthians 1: 28-29).
Jesus humbled
himself not only to save us but also as an example for all of us.
Jesus, our Messiah, is one of the
most beautiful examples on this subject. Is it not written about him what
follows in Isaiah 53?
“1Who has believed our
report? And to whom has the arm of the Yehoah been
revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and
as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and
rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it
were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by Elohim, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our
iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we
are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to
his own way; and Yehoah has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened
not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its
shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from
prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut
off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My
people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, because He had done no
violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise Him; he has put Him to grief. When You
make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His
days, and the pleasure of Yehoah shall prosper in His
hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By
His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
for He shall bear their iniquities.”
Let us not
harden our heart!
Here is an important counsel: if we
want our humbleness to be a success, let's stay malleable as much as possible.
We must do our utmost to avoid at all costs any hardening of our heart; if not
so, we risk that our Father who is to some extent our Potter will break us if
our behavior does not meet his expectation of Creator!
Paul in Romans 2 encourages us in
this way:
" 5 But in
accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up
for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment
of Elohim, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:
7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good
seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are
self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation
and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does
evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor,
and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with Elohim.”
Another good advice to avoid us
going stubbornly in a dead end is to seek Yehoah's
advice before engaging in it and not arrogating to ourself
alone the power of decision. Here again, Jesus must serve us as an example
because he did nothing that was not approved by his Father!
John 5 is a proof of this attitude
of Jesus:
" 19 Then Jesus
answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the
Son also does in like manner..... 30 I can of Myself
do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is
righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who
sent Me.”
Conclusion.
As a conclusion, let us meditate King
David's teaching in Psalm 119, verses 71-75:
“71 It is good for me
that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your
statutes.
72 The law of Your mouth is better to me than
thousands of coins of gold and silver.
73 Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding,
that I may learn Your commandments.
74 Those who fear You will be glad when they
see me, because I have hoped in Your word.
75 I know, O Yehoah, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have
afflicted me.”