Humble

Mary was frightened and confused. The angel Gabriel suddenly appeared and told her that she was going to have a child. Mary asked the obvious question, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” In Gabriel’s amazing and mysterious answer, he explained that the entire Trinity would be involved in the miraculous birth.

Isn’t a Christian supposed to be “aw shucks” humble? Aren’t believers meant to hide in a corner and not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing? Aren’t believers expected to refrain from showing off? Not according to Jesus.

When the Light arrived in the darkness, the heavenly Father sent his Son to the back of the line. The Light of the world, the eternal God in the flesh, received no breaks and no advantages. After an unseemly pregnancy and a hard journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the fullness of time had come. And…there was no room for Jesus.

Self-promotion and self-absorption are signs of the times. From the excesses of infamous executives to the chest-beating celebrations of quarterback sacks and touchdown passes (isn’t that what they get paid a lot of money to do?) to those who must have things their way, many live their lives in the headlines, on the jumbotrons. Someone has said that those who are wrapped up in themselves make for a very small package.

Humility is the appropriate “attire” for the follower of Jesus. The lasting principle, quoted here by Peter, makes the case that God ”mocks proud mockers, but shows favor to the humble and oppressed” (Proverbs 3:34 NIV).

Why did God become flesh? Why did God humble himself to become a man? The writer of the Hebrews tells us that it was for the joy of providing man the way to God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

God in the flesh surrendered himself, entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. He continued to yield all the way to the cross. The charge of the believer is to follow that example of humble relent.

John knew what he was made to do. He surrendered his life to God’s assignment.

There are some surprising people included in Jesus’ genealogy.