I am still gleaning so much from my church’s ladies bible study we’ve been doing based on Andrew Murray’s booklet “Humility.” I think the other ladies would agree that this little booklet packs a might punch! As in a punch in the gut, I should say. Conviction abounds on every turn of the page as I go through it. Humility just seems to be one of those virtues that gets pushed to the side, and as Christians (yes, even as Christians!) we value other virtues much more, which, frankly is pathetic. I’ve been meditating on this little paragraph from the book:

First, is the fact that there may be the enthusiastic and active practice of Christianity while humility is still sadly lacking. The disciples had a fervent attachment to Jesus. They had forsaken all to follow Him. The Father had revealed to them that He (Jesus) was the Christ of God. They believed in Him, they loved Him, and they obeyed His commandments. When others fell away, they remained faithful to Him. They were ready to die with Him. But deeper than all of this devotion was the existence of an inner power of sin and selfishness. This power had to be dealt with before they could be witnesses of the power of Jesus to save. It is so with all of us. We may find professors and ministers, evangelists and Christian workers, missionaries and teachers, in whom the gifts of the Spirit are many and manifest, and who are the channels of blessing to multitudes, but of whom, when tested, or close interpersonal relationships reveal their true characters, it is only too evident that the grace of humility, as an abiding characteristic, is rarely to be seen. All of this tends to confirm the reality that humility is one of the chief and highest virtures, one of the most difficult to attain, and one to which our first and greatest efforts ought to be directed. Humility is a virtue that only comes in power when the fullness of the Spirity makes us partakers of the indwelling Christ and He lives within us.

Andrew Murray goes on to say that we can only become humble by the indwelling of Christ and God’s Holy Spirit…it’s not something we can do on our own, or by our own will. If we are too full of ourselves, we can’t be filled with the Spirit, and we can’t be humble. We must be empty vessels…like Christ, who totally emptied Himself, and allowed Himself to be humble so that the Father could fill Him up with His Spirit, and with power, to do only what God’s son could do. Can any of us be as humble as Christ was? I think not. I have not yet met a man or woman who can claim that! But we can pray for that same spiritual power that Christ had, and for God to do a work in us that only He can do.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9