“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:29
From a worldly standpoint, true greatness is determined by the magnitude, or the number, of great things that one accomplishes. Associated with this concept is the amount of wealth, and worldly possessions that one can acquire. Another criteria that the man of the world guages greatness by is the reputation that he develops, either good or bad. A good reputation, according to the Bible is a good thing, if it is honoring to God, and results in the blessing of men. But the one who guages his “greatness” by the praise or blame of men, rather than receving it from God deceives himself.
Scripture tells us that Moses “…was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) And yet, we consider Moses to be great. In Egypt, during the first forty years of his life, his greatness was determined by what men thought of him. He was raised in Pharoah’s household, instructed in all “…the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.” (Acts 7:22) But there in Egypt, up until the age of forty, his so-called greatness consisted in what he thought of himself, certainly being influenced by the opinions of men. It would not be until, during and after, forty years in the wilderness, herding sheep, that true greatness would begin to reveal itself. This concept of “greatness” ceased to be in what men thought. It was there, in the desert, and later revealed during the mission and purpose for which God called him, that the issue of “meekness” began to reveal itself as a basic component, or aspect, of true greatness. Of course, to understand the matter of meekness, we need to look closely at the One who declared Himself to be, “…meek and lowly of heart.” This same meekness and lowliness would be manifested in the body of Christ. It would be revealed by the Spirit, characterizing the church going forward. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesian believers he wrote: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, WITH ALL MEEKNESS AND LOWLINESS, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (4:1-3) Why does Paul write about this same lowliness and meekness being a necessity, the same lowliness and meekness that Christ knew and revealed to us by the Spirit? It is because there is NO cause for greatness, nor the realization of it in the life, without lowliness and meekness. God knows the proud person afar off. And no flesh will glory in His presence. Why? Because God alone, in Christ, is worthy of worship, praise, blessing and honor. It is as one Christian writer put it: “Every virtue I possess, and every victory won; every thought of holiness, are Thine and Thine alone.” The meek and lowly man is the man whom God blesses, for God only entrusts His glory to that man who is faithful to attribute it, or give it back, to God. What then must we do to receive, and know this blessed lowliness and meekness? We discover it in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Paul writes that if we are to follow Christ, and know His blessing, and powerful presence, then we must have His mind. That mind is characterized by several things. The first is Christ’s choice to be what He was called to be even though He would not be understood. The second is that He sought not the praise or blame of men, a reputation coming from men. He lived only to please the Father, receiving from Him alone His blessing and approval in all things. Thirdly, He deliberately took upon Himself the mind, disposition, and heart of a servant. He came to minister, not to be ministered to. Finally, He humbled Himself to become obedient unto death.
Dear Father, We would be Thy servants. In Jesus’ name.