HUMBLE yourself for GOD to EXALT you LATER!
October
26 Bible Reading: Luke Chapters 13-15
HUMBLE yourself for GOD to EXALT you LATER!
So
He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the
best places, saying to them: "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding
feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be
invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place
to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when
you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who
invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have
glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever
exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:7-11)
This is a
parable that our Lord Jesus expounded after He witnessed first-hand how people
lusted after honor and glory for themselves. As Jesus entered the Pharisee’s
house, perhaps He saw the guests maneuvering for the best places of eminence and honor around the table near where the
host was seated. The idea of lowest and highest seats refers to the universal
custom of designating places for honored persons at meals and other functions.
However, the guests were positioning themselves in those positions without
verifying with the host if they were
indeed worthy to be seated in those seats of honor!
During His
public ministry, Jesus has stressed on humility since it was pride that first
caused man’s downfall in the first place. As the New Adam, Jesus exemplified
righteous living through the path of humility. It is worth noting that man fell
from God’s favor because he presumed through
his pride that the forbidden fruit would make him “like God knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Man’s godliness can
now be restored only when he humbles himself before God’s will and purpose. Only
those who humbly respond to Jesus’ gracious invitation will be present to enjoy
the kingdom of God. God honors those who
recognize their own lowliness and unworthiness and who rely solely on His
mercy!
If we are
truly humble before God, there is only one direction we can possibly move and
that is up. Through this parable, Jesus has taught us that it is better to be
advanced to a place of honor than to grasp that place and later have to
relinquish it. Jesus Himself is the best living example of self-renunciation (Phil. 2:5–11) and real humility (John 13:1-15). Jesus
humbled Himself even to the lowly death on the cross, and as a result God highly
exalted His name above every other name!
In the
kingdom that Christ came to establish, humility triumphs pride every time. The
values of the kingdom that Christ came to establish were radically different
from those prevalent then and now. Many times we want the best for ourselves
like the Pharisees and scribes who clamored for the spotlight and sought the
adulation of the crowds. But Jesus wants us to be humble before He exalts us.
The radical and upside-down way of God’s kingdom is this: we must be little in our own eyes before we can be large in His eyes!
