JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE HUMBLE

I have written several posts on the subject of humility, and have even acquired a little of my own over the seventy years God has seen fit to keep me here; but I am discovering that I have a long way to go before I come close to matching the humility of Jesus Christ!  I cannot imagine the humility it took for the Creator of the Universe (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2; etc.) to allow men He had created, to strip Him, beat Him, and nail Him to a cross; it boggles the mind!  And yet, even though we cannot possibly comprehend it, the Lord asks us to do likewise.  Paul wrote:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8). 

In other words, become so detached with the ownership of your body, that you are willing to allow those who hate you, to do what their "father" wants them to do:  to kill you (Mt. 8:44; Jn. 10:10; Heb. 2:14).  Most of us have considered what we will do should someone threaten to kill us, and many before us have set the example for us to follow.  But in some ways, death, while being the ultimate enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), may be easier to face than is life!

Recently, I went to the doctor because I was having severe back pain.  As it turned out, I had developed a severe case of degenerative spine disease.  Having been involved in athletics most of my early life, football and judo had also taken their toll on my spine.  The damage is so bad that I have lost the ability to fully bend or twist my neck.  In addition, bending or twisting my torso has become almost impossible.  The pain is excruciating, and my medication is inadequate to relieve my agony.  I have thought about increasing the dosage (doubling or tripling up), but I am having trouble staying awake with the prescribed dosage; I cannot see spending the rest of my life in a drug-induced stupor!  I have prayed, and others have prayed, but it appears the Lord has chosen to give me strength rather than healing.  That strength is waning, and I long to have His ultimate "healing!" 

I am discovering that requiring someone assist you to go to the bathroom, to dress you, or even to do menial tasks around the house, is far more humiliating that death.  And it is no "picnic" for those who are willing to assist me, either!  Call it escapism or whatever, I long to be absent from this body and present with the Lord!  The Rapture, or even death is more than welcome!  Come Lord Jesus!

Death is nothing but a shadow to the born again believer; we have eternal life!