From I to He

2007-04-07

Did you ever wonder why in English the first person singular pronoun is capitalized: “I”? I never did any research as to why this is, but it says a lot about who we are as human beings. A single stroke standing tall by itself, perhaps by a coincidence, corresponds that we too can think of ourselves as independent from all others, including the Lord.

Lately, I have been reading in a devotional book edited by Larry Johnson called “Lift Up Your Lord.” This compilation of Scripture verses and commentators has an entire section on humility, and while reading this, the lowliness of our Lord Jesus overwhelmed my thoughts.

He never went to the fine rabbinical schools, yet He knew everything about the Word (or more importantly, is the Word). He had the greatest riches in heaven, but He walked the land of Israel as nothing more than a mere man, with no home; never a place to lay His head. He washed the feet of His disciples. He suffered the most malevolent cruelty at the hands of ruthless men (people like us). He did not hang out with the religious and political leaders of the day; He did not esteem to sit on thrones of synagogues, temples, and palaces. He was selfless; when the moochers came, they saw His character and took everything they could get from Him. They were healed in vast droves, but in good time they were shouting, “Crucify Him.”

The list of wonderful things He did for humankind goes on, and we could document forever on how He humbled Himself to being a servant. But we cannot forget: This is the Man we claim we want to imitate and desire to serve. What are we seeking? Do we seek to gain in knowledge and power? Do we seek the riches that we could obtain in this life and favoritism among men? When we do this, we are denying the Christ who bought us with His blood.

It is time to become preoccupied with His humility and His love. It is time we stop aspiring the things for which the world strives. The cost is high: if we look to be like our Lord, we are inviting suffering and possibly dying for Him. We cannot forget that we are sojourners in a world that seeks hope alone in this life before the end comes.