Serving God Humbly

Humility is a rare commodity these days. Too many people insist their personal view about everything must be seen and heard by everyone. They believe humility is a sign of weakness and/or cowardice; that meek folks don’t get noticed and are, therefore, insignificant.

However, the greatest, most influential person who ever walked the earth self-identified as being “gentle and humble in heart“ (Matthew 11:29). Yet those traits never once lessened the authority and power He displayed in His words and actions. Therefore, every Christian should strive to serve God and our neighbors gently and humbly.

Jesus was transparent about His mission – to faithfully serve His Heavenly Father. He publicly acknowledged, “I’ve come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the One who sent Me. Now this is the will of the One who sent Me – that I should not lose one person of every one He’s given Me, but raise them all up at the last day“ (John 6:38-39).

He also openly preached that the sovereign Father has preordained everything that occurs. “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will“ (Matthew 10:29). Ian Hamilton wrote, “Did this knowledge leave our blessed Savior proud, distant, clinically distant of unenlightened sinners? Did He parade His ‘Calvinism’ for all to see? The very reverse was true. He was God’s chosen Servant, His own dearly beloved Son.”

Christ’s demeanor showed His followers how they’re to conduct themselves. As Isaiah had prophesized about Him centuries earlier, “He’ll not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. He’ll not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick…” (Matthew 12:19-20). Nevertheless, our gentle and humble Lord permanently altered the course of human history.

Jesus never said His gentle and humble countenance was different from His Father’s. On the contrary, He proclaimed, “The Father and I are one“ (John 10:30), confirming that our Father God is loving and merciful, too. Dane Ortlund wrote, “The sins of those who belong to God open the floodgates of His heart of compassion for us. The dam breaks. It’s not our loveliness that wins His love. It’s our unloveliness. Our hearts gasp to catch up with this. It’s not how the world around us works. It’s not how our own hearts work.”

Will serving God humbly make our lives run smoother? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But humbling ourselves before our Lord isn’t optional. Humility is the key to sincere and acceptable worship. Hamilton wrote, “Whatever else marks Christian worship, a deep sense of the greatness and glory of God, and the littleness of man, will be a compelling note in our church gatherings.”

“Since we’re receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. For our God is indeed a devouring fire“ (Hebrews 12:28-29). Sadly, many modern-day churches have turned their services into “extravaganzas” wherein the preacher and/or the musicians involved become the focus of the congregation’s attention, not the soul-saving gospel. That’s a shame. They’re robbing themselves of the joy found in being reverent before God.

A truly gentle and humble pastor relies only on the power and grace that flows from the Holy Word for expanding God’s kingdom. Some of the most effective preachers have been soft-spoken orators (Martyn Lloyd-Jones comes to mind.) God doesn’t need us to be charismatic or instantly likeable in order for the gospel message we share to transform hearts from stone to flesh. Simply telling somebody Christ died on a cross to atone for their sins is all that’s required. The Holy Spirit does the rest.

Often my “cleverness” gets in the way of delivering the “Good News” efficiently. At our local Celebrate Recovery ministry I sometimes emcee the large group session. What I often find myself doing, though, is racking my brain to come up with something “thought-provoking” to end with when the fundamental gospel truth is more than enough. God doesn’t need my help. He just wants me to tell the truth about Jesus.

In my previous blog, I wrote about misconceptions surrounding Calvinism. One is that Calvinists deem themselves “privileged characters” because they know they’re among the elect. Wrong. Calvinism, by its very nature, dissolves any trace of pride a person like me might harbor. When I contemplate that despite being an unholy and unrighteous sinner God has adopted me as an heir to all He’s created, it drives me to my knees in gratitude.

I have nothing to be proud of. I’m literally “like a burning stick snatched from the fire“ (Zechariah 3:2). I believe with all my heart what Christ told His disciples about Himself: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing“ (John 15:5). The only pride I have lies is in knowing Jesus as my friend and redeemer.

I agree with Paul, who said, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world“ (Galatians 6:14).

John Calvin wrote, “When viewing our miserable condition since Adam’s fall, all confidence and boasting are overthrown, we blush for shame… It’s impossible to think of our primeval dignity without being immediately reminded of the sad spectacle of our ignominy and corruption, ever since we fell from our original in the person of our first parent. In this way we feel dissatisfied with ourselves, and become truly humble, while we’re inflamed with new desires to seek after God.”

Defending Calvinism, Hamilton opined, “Calvinism is proud, but only of the Savior; proud of His glory and of His grace; proud that, though He was rich, yet for our poor, judgment-deserving sakes, He became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich.” He rightly concluded, “Proud Calvinism is the ultimate oxymoron.”