Philippians 2:8 (NIV)
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. Every day
we need to learn from Him. Witness the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples'
feet! Follower of Christ, will you not humble yourself? Consider Him the
Servant of servants, and surely you cannot be proud! This sentence sums up His
life: "He humbled Himself." Isn't it true to say that on earth he was
always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another until, naked, He
was fastened to the cross and emptied Himself, pouring out His lifeblood,
giving it up for all of us, until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave?
Our dear Redeemer was brought low! How then can we be proud?
Stand at the foot of the cross and count the purple drops by
which you have been cleansed; see the crown of thorns; mark His scourged
shoulders; see hands and feet given up to the rough iron, and His whole self to
mockery and scorn; see the bitterness and the pains of inward grief, showing
themselves in His outward frame; hear the beleaguered cry, "My God, my
God, why have You forsaken me?" And if you do not lie prostrate on the
ground before that cross, you have never seen it: If you are not humbled in the
presence of Jesus, you do not know Him.
You were so lost that nothing could save you but the
sacrifice of God's only Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you, bow
yourself in lowliness at His feet. A sense of Christ's amazing love for us has
a greater tendency to humble us than even an awareness of our own guilt. May
the Lord bring our thoughts to Calvary; then our position will no longer be
that of the pompous man of pride, but we will take the humble place of one who
loves much because he has been forgiven much.
Pride cannot live beneath the cross. Let us sit there and
learn our lesson, and then rise and carry it into practice.
Thought for today:
Do I recognize my cross and am I always willing to carry it?
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