Humble Beginnings By: Machelle McDowell
Incredible things begin in humble places!
Tiny Little Town
From the moment of Jesus’ birth he modeled humility. God chose the tiniest little town for Jesus to be born in, “ But you, oh Bethlehem Ephrathah, Who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from the old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2
Tiny Little Baby
Mary and Joseph did not check into a hospital where state of the art medical care was available if a problem was to arise.
Mary did not hear the beeps of a heart monitor attached snuggly to her stomach as she awaited the arrival of her little bundle of joy, but instead the sounds of bleating little lambs and the groaning of nearby cattle.
Tiny Little Trough
Mary continued to clothe Jesus in humility by wrapping him in swaddling cloth. As she gently placed each piece around his arms and legs confining him in love and at the same time restraining his ability to move. Once in a nice little bundle she gently lowered him into a even greater state of humility by placing him into a feeding trough to rest.
What is God trying to show us in this picture?
There are 73 verses in the Bible that address humility. Throughout the Bible, Jesus is presented as the definition of true humility. Beginning as an infant and throughout his life humility defined our Savior.
I love James 4:10! “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you!” Wow! God will exalt those who humble themselves! Why is that so hard for us to do then? Simply put, we think more highly of ourselves than we should? Are we tiny in our own eyes? The truth of the matter is that our eyes reflect the opposite. It’s more about me than it is about, “He.”
Oh Lord, Help us to:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves. Let each of us look not only to ur own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4).
There is a very hard lesson to be learned in being truly humble. Being humble requires a very strong sense of God‘s presence. We cannot overcome our fleshly desires on our own.
“Count others more significant than yourself.”
When Jesus was being tortured and finally crucified the words, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”.... Little did we know that (approximately) 33 years prior when that tiny little baby, in that tiny little town, in that tiny little manger all wrapped up in swaddling cloth was being prepared at that very moment to demonstrate the greatest act of humility to mankind!
Forgive them? He looked at those who came against him and counted them more significant than himself. He was not blinded by pride or tempted to bring vengeance or prove a point. He acted out of pure love and humility.
One of my favorite stories in the Gospel of John is where Jesus shared humility and grace to the Samaritan woman. She yearned to be wanted, and cared for when no one, not even herself, could see anything of value in her life...Jesus did. She was living in open sin and Jesus reached out to her in humility and made her feel important and loved.
This story teaches us much about the value of people. He demonstrated love to everyone and commands that we do the same. Humble ourselves to the point of putting others above ourselves.
“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
Humble beginnings allow God to be made much of. Let’s wrap ourselves in humility. In doing so, it will allow us to love greater, forgive easier, and become selfless instead of selfish.
“ Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord!”.....He will exalt you!