The Final Contradiction

I'm not sure that I'll ever fully get my head around Christ's humility, but today brought some perspective to my working definition of humility. Johnson's excerpt from the Barclay commentary reads: "In Jesus, they saw one who was meek and lowly, one who deliberately avoided the spectacular, one who served and ended on a cross, and it seemed to them an impossible picture of the Chosen One of God."

We know that Christ embraced humility as he was born in a stable, rode into town on a burro, and died on a cross, but this morning was the first time that I really connected these dots and understood the contradiction of the cross. That excerpt explains that there were prophets who gained large followings and promised spectacular things, while Christ "simply" offered life to the fullest. I guess some could argue that Christ's lowly birth and death were out of his hands- that perhaps he would have chosen better if he could have, but with the understanding of the world's "meek and lowly" perception of him, we see that throughout his ministry (daresay, his prime) he was continually choosing humility. And service. And obedience. And sacrificial, servant love. He wasn't sent to the cross, he went to the cross; it didn't happen to him, he embraced it. He stooped lower. As I take an honest look at the life of Jesus this morning, I don't find anything more attractive than the fragrance of his humility and his capacity to serve me despite my forgetfulness.

In a podcast, I heard Darin McWatters say: Christ's love is the only love you'll ever know that loves you SO you'll change and not WHEN you change. I'm so grateful that I've got a father and redeemer who doesn't find it necessary to impress me with anything other than unfailing, undeserved love.