Most of us take meekness for weakness. Personally, I always saw
it as a character flaw rather than virtue. Imagine my shock when I realized that
not only my own value system, but the values of those I respected the most were
the exact opposite of what God esteems as valuable. Our values are at the core of who we are, our
deepest identity. How in the world do
you change what you hold most near and dear to your heart?!!! And why would I want to be a weak-willed, feeble-minded
wimp?!!
To my strong-willed, independent nature, there was something intensely troubling when confronted with Jesus.
The hardest thing to swallow was His humility, this servant attitude, this
careful attention for the people on the fringe, the poor, the despised, the
rejected, the ‘unimportant’. Why would
He care so much about them? They are
not movers and shakers. They are not the
influencers. What a waste of time and
effort when He could be so much more strategic and productive in leveraging His
influence and power by working with the cream of the crop.
And yet, despite His carefree disregard of what was
important to me, I had to admit I couldn't call Him a feeble-minded, weak-willed
wimp. I must have missed something somewhere…
The apostle John gives us an insight into the
source of Jesus’ ability to assume the most humble roles of a servant:
Jesus, knowing that
the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from
God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments;
and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and
began to wash the disciples’ feet. John 13:3-5
Jesus knew who He was.
He knew what He had, what has been given to Him by His Father. He knew where He came from. He knew His history – His pre-incarnate
glory, the Incarnation, His life as a Jewish carpenter, the temptations in the wilderness, the compassion for the shepherd-less sheep. He knew where He was going – the Cross, the
Tomb, the Resurrection. The Return. He knew His destiny. Armed with this knowledge, He didn’t need to
cling to His privileges – either human or divine. He had nothing to prove except His love for
His own. And He did exactly that.
Much of our lack of humility and meekness stems from our
deeply seated insecurity about who we are.
Am I loved? Will I be accepted? What if I am rejected? What will be the
outcome of my life? How do I make a
mark, leave a legacy to ensure I am worthy, valuable? Our motivations fuel our actions. For some, it’s fear and insecurity. For some it's unpretentious fruit deeply rooted in the knowledge that we are loved and valued beyond
expression.
Jesus found His value and worth not in what He did and
accomplished, or what other people thought of Him, but in His relationship with
His Father:
This is My beloved Son
with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him. Matthew 17:5
That’s all that mattered. His meekness, His humility, His
ability to serve and surrender His life even to the point of death didn’t come
because He was weak and wimpy. His
gentleness was the fruit which was rooted in complete rest and security of His
Father’s love and sovereign purpose. With love like that, we have nothing to
lose, nothing to prove - finally free to love the way He loves us.
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