…she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Luke 2:7
How Jesus loved people:
In the last post about how Jesus loved people we talked about how He just showed up. Jesus, who was God, the Creator of all things, the One who lived with the Father, Jesus, The Christ, He became one of us. And we talked about how you and I can have a tendency to want to show love to the most popular, or the powerful, or the rich, or the most well known among us. But where we really have power to make an impact is with those who are just the opposite. Those who you know would count it as a blessing if you showed up. If you just gave them a few minutes of your time. If you initiated a relationship. Jesus did that for you and for me. You and I can do the same.
In this post I want to take a look at how Jesus came. Just exactly how He did show up. What stands out the most to me about how He showed up is his humility. The Son of God wasn’t born into the household of a king, but into the household of a young carpenter. Jesus’ mother wasn’t a queen, or a wealthy matriarch. She was a teenage girl. Jesus was born into humble circumstances. Jesus approached us with humility.
How you can too:
You and I can do the same. When we approach someone, like Jesus, we can and should do so in humility. I have to confess that this is an area of weakness for me. I need to hear this message as much or more than anyone. For instance, my wife, Kathy, and I were reminiscing about our dating relationship the other day and it went something like this:
Me: “Remember when we both worked at the old folks home and you looked forward to going to work, because you’d get to see that cute guy who you liked, at shift change?” (that ‘cute’ guy was me)”
Kathy: “I didn’t look forward to going to work, because that guy was arrogant.”
It was a short conversation.
Contrast my own behavior from my early twenties with that of Jeremy Lin. Lately, the New York Knicks point guard seems to be everywhere in the media. He’s only twenty-three years old, and has been in the public eye on a national scale for only a few weeks, but he’s been very well received, in large part, because of his humble approach. Statistically, no one in the history of the National Basketball Association has done what Jeremy Lin has done in his first five starts, yet he almost always credits God and his teammates with Knicks’ wins, and he’s reluctant to talk about himself. Jeremy Lin is a recent example of how a Christian can influence others for Christ through humility. Humility is attractive to people. Arrogance is obnoxious — just ask Kathy.
When you approach someone, when you initiate a relationship with someone, when you interact with friends and family, do so with humility. No matter how much reputation you might think you’re leaving on the table by not talking yourself up, you’re still light years behind the humility Jesus displayed when He left His place in heaven, to become one of us. He met us on our own level.
He approached people in humility.
You can too.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himselfPhilippians 2:5-8
References:
