One of the most important...
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One of the most important lessons we learn from our Lord is humility. No one is higher than God. Jesus is God. But his example is one of humility: He was born in a manger. He spent the first part of his life as a carpenter. He allowed himself to be baptized by his cousin. He had nowhere to lay his head when he began his ministry. He ate with publicans and sinners. He allowed a prostitute to pour oil over him and dry his feet with her hair. He talked with Samaritans. He healed lepers that no one else dared to touch. He washed the disciples' feet. He rode a humble donkey on Palm Sunday instead of a great steed. He never bragged. Almost everything he did was humble.
It isn't easy to have a Jesus kind of attitude. If you want to get ahead in the world, you're supposed to brag about your skills and training and try to put your name at the top of the list. You even have to tell your children that you are in charge. They may take advantage of you if you are too humble.
Because Jesus humbled himself enough to be like one of us, it should tell us that there is nothing we can experience as humans that Jesus did not experience. He was tempted in every way such as we are. He must have liked to see pretty girls. I'll bet he was even tempted to settle down and get married. He was probably tempted to keep on working as a carpenter. Since he knew that he was God, Satan's temptation in the desert must have been an almost daily part of his life. I wonder if he was tempted to just get rid of the Romans and get all the temple leaders to support him. The scripture tells us that he was tempted. He couldn't have been human if he wasn't. He could have been rich and bought all the support he needed.
He overcame the greatest temptation and accepted the suffering that he knew was coming. He must have known what crucifixion was like. People in those days saw it frequently and were repulsed by it. All he had to do was pray for his Father to relieve him of this terrible task and it would have been done.
Jesus suffered out of love for us. God is love. He proved it beyond any doubt. He bore our burdens. He endured shame as well as pain. Isn't that beyond anything we could be or have been willing to do? Since Adam, all had fallen into sin. Only a sinless God could save us. He could have just waved his hand and we would all have been saved, but instead he gave us an example by his attitude. Only his Spirit could help us even attempt to try to accomplish that. Since we would never succeed, we can only turn to him to be forgiven.
It isn't easy to have a Jesus kind of attitude. If you want to get ahead in the world, you're supposed to brag about your skills and training and try to put your name at the top of the list. You even have to tell your children that you are in charge. They may take advantage of you if you are too humble.
Because Jesus humbled himself enough to be like one of us, it should tell us that there is nothing we can experience as humans that Jesus did not experience. He was tempted in every way such as we are. He must have liked to see pretty girls. I'll bet he was even tempted to settle down and get married. He was probably tempted to keep on working as a carpenter. Since he knew that he was God, Satan's temptation in the desert must have been an almost daily part of his life. I wonder if he was tempted to just get rid of the Romans and get all the temple leaders to support him. The scripture tells us that he was tempted. He couldn't have been human if he wasn't. He could have been rich and bought all the support he needed.
He overcame the greatest temptation and accepted the suffering that he knew was coming. He must have known what crucifixion was like. People in those days saw it frequently and were repulsed by it. All he had to do was pray for his Father to relieve him of this terrible task and it would have been done.
Jesus suffered out of love for us. God is love. He proved it beyond any doubt. He bore our burdens. He endured shame as well as pain. Isn't that beyond anything we could be or have been willing to do? Since Adam, all had fallen into sin. Only a sinless God could save us. He could have just waved his hand and we would all have been saved, but instead he gave us an example by his attitude. Only his Spirit could help us even attempt to try to accomplish that. Since we would never succeed, we can only turn to him to be forgiven.
