Christ, who poured himself out, made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant ...What have I ever set aside so that I could help someone else, reach someone else? Can I even imagine setting aside my abilities or achievements? Don't I hang on to the things that make me feel special -- that is, the things that separate me -- precisely because they separate me? What backwards kind of enjoyment is that, to enjoy the things that separate me from others?
How opposite Christ. How much he was willing to set aside. He gave up those things that put him above all else, when he truly was above all else, unlike us. He set aside the things that made him above us, and took up those things that made him lowly like us.
When we meet him in the gospel, he seems joyful. Humility rejoices in all good things. Christ in his humility is essentially generous and warm-hearted.
Pride rejoices primarily in praise. It's greedy, never having its fill, and discontent with what it has. How opposite, opposite is Christ, who was discontent with what he had when he was above us and separate from us, and who was glad to set aside all things to rejoin us.
2 comments:
As C. S. Lewis said (through Puddleglum, I believe it was) "There are no accidents."
God willing, I'll be teaching a Sunday School class on humility on Sunday, and using this.
Thanks.
Puddleglum was one of my favorite of Lewis' characters. "All full of bobbance and bounce". Riiight. And Roald Dahl accused C.S. Lewis of having no sense of humor ...
Take care & God bless
Anne / WF
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