Lenten Lunch - Humility & Faith

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus. The Bible actually uses a word that means infant. So some of these children were small, perhaps not talking, or even walking yet. The parents brought their children to Jesus so that He might bless them.

But as they bring their children to Jesus, the disciples see it and begin to tell them to go away. The disciples counted it their job to screen those who wanted their Master’s time and attention. To them, these infants were nothing. Unimportant. But Jesus takes a completely different approach.

He tells the disciples to let these kids through! But His reasoning is interesting: “for to such belong the kingdom of heaven.” (Luke 18:16b, ESV).

Then we read this in Luke 18:17

Luke 18:17 ESV

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

The theme this year for our Lenten lunches is focusing in humility. Andrew Murray, in his book Humility written in 1895 says that humility and faith are one. You cannot have more of one without the other. The main point of this devotional today:

Humility and Faith go together.

So why bring up the story of Jesus and the children from Luke 18? Because children are a great example of how humility and faith go together.

First let’s define these terms: Deacon Bill defined humility for us as viewing one’s self accurately as an individual, with talents and flaws, yet void of arrogance or low self-esteem. Humility is in fact a great character strength. Andrew Murray defines faith as “The acceptance of our place as humble dependants.” Truly, faith expresses our dependance on the one in whom we place our belief and trust. I would add to this that we seek praise not from fellow man, but from God. Here’s something else Andrew Murray said: Humility prepares the soul for trust.

What better example of humility, faith, and trust than little children, who with innocent trust and dependance demonstrate the path to the kingdom of God.

My son does not have any problem relying on myself or Katie. He is constantly coming to us needing something, or wanting to tell us something. He shares everything with us, from the times when he bonks his head to the moments when something grabs his attention and blows his mind. He is dependant on us for food, clothing, hygiene. There is a humility in this. He relies on us, and trusts us in a humble dependance. That’s the way it should be! As he grows, he will become more independent. No doubt he will want to do things by himself. But at this stage in the game he is exactly where he should be: exercising dependance and trust in his parents. So it is with us and our Heavenly Father, that we humbly place our dependance on Him, understanding that we desparately need Jesus. And within God’s kingdom, it actually works backwards: We don’t somehow outgrow God as we grow in faith, but instead we become ever-more dependent on Him for everything. We exercise humility by seeking His praise, and not the praise of people. And it starts with humility that comes from God’s Spirit to realize that we desperately need God.

As we consider how faith and humility go together, we must realize that without humility, there can be no true faith. In fact, pride makes faith impossible!

In Mark 2:17, we encounter the story of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. When the scribes of the Pharisees - those who counted themselves very upright because they lead Israel in following the law - saw this, they ask:

Mark 2:16b (ESV)

“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Mark 2:17 ESV

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

What happened here in this story? These scribes were meticulous followers of the law. They tried their hardest to keep the law at every point. Yet their attitude was such that they created two classes of person in that time. They separated themselves from the “common folk” whose characters were not “pure” like theirs. Such boasting in the purity they thought they had attained for themselves happened not just in front of people, but in front of God, who sees everything. They meticulously tried to follow the law, and so gained a false estimation of themselves as better than the rest. Yet in truth, they were no better than the rest.

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We have two choices: We can be full of ourselves, thinking that we are so great because of who we are and what we have done. This was the character of the scribes. Yet this arrogance only serves to push us away from Jesus. Or, we can choose to have an accurate view of who we are. People, with talents and flaws, and all in need of the Saviour. The reality is that there is not one of us in this room that is not a sinner. Wether you’ve done something big or small, every last one of us needs Jesus. The problem is that when our own pride gets in the way, there can be no room for humble dependance on the Saviour. How can we rightly see that we cannot save ourselves and must come before God and ask forgiveness if we are blinded by our own false-confidence of our skills, accomplishments, position, or possessions? Pride pushes out the Saviour.

Jesus Himself modelled humility for us in being submitted to the will of the Father. He was further not driven by the praise of people, but rather sought for the Father’s approval. To truly place our faith - our dependance and belief in Jesus Christ alone - we need to have humility.

Humility and Faith go together. If faith truly is the acceptance of our place as humble dependants, than really what we are saying is that we need God. We do not think too much of ourselves, thinking that by our actions, or our status we are better than others or too good to need Jesus. Rather, we see ourselves as people who are all broken, and in need of Jesus. And from that God begins a new work, creating through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, and the indwelling of the Spirit, a new person - a person who becomes more and more dependant on Christ, and less and less driven by the approval of man. It is in a space of humility that faith can grow and be exercised. It is in this same heart posture that the Holy Spirit can work within us.

So, again to borrow from Andrew Murray, “let us seek to humble ourselves before God. Let us accept gladly those things that humble us.”

Little children are not afraid to admit they need help - not most of the time at least. They simply, faithfully, place their trust in their parents. They recognize with surprising clarity that they need help, and then in sincerity come to their parent asking for it. Now I get it, especially as kids get older they become more and more “I do it” focused. But little children, in their simplicity, their openness, and their faith demonstrate the essential nature of how humility and faith go together. If we cannot come before God with humility to acknowledge that we need Jesus, we cannot truly place our faith in Him.

As we continue to travel this path of humility during this season of lent, my prayer for all of us is that we will exercise humility and faith. We are dependant on God, and if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ, we would all be on our way to hell right now. But because of Jesus we are saved, and now have hope! Lest we think this is our own doing, this is God’s work - the free gift of love that He offers us. So as we journey together during lent, I challenge you to come to Jesus with humble submission, expressing your trust and belief in Him as Saviour and Lord. Do not boast before God, but rather be humbly dependant on Him. Continue to allow God to do a new work in you. Do not allow your own pride - to let you think yourself better than the God who died for you! Instead, humbly let God’s Spirit continue to change your life, and thank Him for new life, and new hope in Jesus.

Pray.