The Humble Love of God. The idea of a humble God is one that simply doesn’t exist in other religions. God (or gods) as all-powerful, sure. But humble? Not so much. Yet, in the Christian faith we see the humble love of God demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 and Colossians 1:15 tell us that Jesus is the exact imprint of the nature of God. This means that in order to know who God the Father is, we can simply look at His Son.
As the eternal, uncreated Son of God, Jesus stepped down from his heavenly glory to take up residence in the womb of a woman, and ultimately, here on this earth. Even his birth was characterized by humility as he was birthed in a stable, placed in a manger, and visited only by lowly shepherds. Furthermore, he was not born to wealthy parents, but to a carpenter and his bride who could afford only pigeons for the temple offering (Luke 2:22-24).
The humility of Jesus extended throughout his upbringing as he submitted to the authority of his earthly parents, obeying them perfectly as commanded in the Law (Luke 2:51, Matthew 5:17). Furthermore, he perfectly loved, honored, and obeyed his Heavenly Father and perfectly loved others, just as God commanded His people to do. Truly, Jesus lived a life of humble obedience and servitude in thought, word, and deed.
The night before his crucifixion, in what may be his most famous act of servant love, Jesus washed the dusty, dirty feet of his disciples to demonstrate the kind of love that makes someone great in the kingdom of God. He taught his disciples to humble themselves, just as he had done, by taking the form of a servant. Jesus did not lord his authority over others and he commanded his disciples not to “lord it over” others as well (Luke 22:25-27).
Though I love the account of Jesus washing feet, I love the account of Jesus making breakfast even more. In John chapter 21 Jesus appeared to his disciples for the third time following his resurrection. The disciples had been fishing all night and upon reaching the shore, they saw Jesus with a charcoal fire with fish laid out on it, and bread. As they came closer, Jesus greeted them, saying, “Come and have breakfast!” (John 21:9-14). How amazing! Our Savior is the kind of Savior who makes breakfast on the beach for those he loves. No god of any other religion can say the same.
Of course, we can’t talk about the humility of Jesus without talking about the greatest act of humility to ever exist: Jesus dying a cruel death on the cross in our place. What should have been our punishment he took upon himself. What should have been our shame, our humiliation, he bore in his body on the tree. He became the curse our sin deserved. The One who is preeminent over all creation; the One by whom and for whom all things are made- humbled himself to die for his sheep. This is a love unlike any other! He is our God who has ransomed, redeemed and reconciled us to Himself.
One more thought. Jesus is also our sympathetic high priest who knows what it is to walk in our shoes. Though truly God, he also walked this earth as true man. This means he knows what it is to feel the agony of a friend’s betrayal, as well as the heartache of grief. He knows what it is to be hungry, sick, and to be rejected by those he cared for. He is truly our God whose entire life here was characterized by humility. He walked the same struggles we do, and in this we find great comfort! As Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Praise God for his humble love! I am so thankful that our God relates to us and loves us with the love of a humble servant. He is Lord of all – and yet, He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). What a beautiful truth that cannot be found in any other god, but only in Christ.
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