First things first. What is the chief and highest end of man?
Let the revered Christian book, namely the Westminster catechism, give the answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify (worship) God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
When it comes to glorifying Him and fully enjoying Him, let it be said that the entire exercise ought to be “absolutely genuine emanating right from the innermost core of one’s being (read spirit)” (John 4:23).
This would lead to the next question: how could the process of glorifying Him originate right from the depths of one’s heart?
It is only possible, when a person is truly moved by the Holy Spirit in recognizing His unique traits. Remember, that the highest form of worship is to worship God for what He is. This stands head and shoulders above other forms of worship, such as worshipping Him for the blessings He showers upon us, which come with strings attached.
In this series of 4 parts punctuated with…what else… “Hallelujahs!” Incidentally “Hallel” in Hebrew language means “To praise” and “Yah” means “God”. In my heart I would like to bring before my readership one pristine quality of Christ, which, amongst others, at once evokes awe in me: His indescribable humility. What then is Biblical “humility”? The original Greek word used for “humility” in portraying the mind of Christ (Phil 2:3-5) is “tapeinophrosune”, which means “a conscious preference of lowliness of mind over self-boasting.” In what areas of Christ’s life do we see it manifested?
Social…
Hey! Do any of us have the choice of selecting our parents? Given the choice, some of us may have chosen to be born into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates! But consider this truth: If there was one person who could have chosen affluent parents, it was Jesus!!! Yet He chose a lowly carpenter’s abode to grow-up in. Do you want proof of Jesus’ earthly “parents” social “low income” strata? Consider these Scripture portions:
As per the Mosaic Law, for a mother’s purification ritual, the woman was required to…
“And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12:8)
So what did Mary and her supportive husband do??? Let the Scripture speak again…
“And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.'” (Luke 2:22-24)
Hmmm…It’s time for a subject within a subject. Donning the Sherlockian hat, one can say that the Wisemen bringing gold as one of the gifts to the Christ-child did not exactly arrive on Christmas day. Otherwise Jesus’ parents could have easily been able to afford a lamb. In fact, the Christ-child was not even in the manger but in a house when they came (Matt 2:11)!
Prayer: Father, continue to mould me into Your Son’s image. Give the strength to withstand the moulding process. In Jesus’ Name. Amen
Suresh Manoharan
An unworthy servant
J and SM Ministries
(To access the entire “Humility All the Way” mini-series, please click here.)