To recap, we mentioned about:
1. Obedience out of LOVE.
2. Responsibility out of LOVE.
3. Justice out of LOVE.
4. Compassion out of LOVE.
5. Peace out of LOVE.
6. Mercy out of LOVE.
Today, we shall complete this topic by completing the last 3 of the 9 motivations of Christ out of LOVE.
7. Humility out of LOVE.
We could never fully understand Christ’s love for us “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8). He was born in a humble setting (Luke 2:7). His own town folks did not believe in Him (Matthew 13:53-58 & Luke 4:28-30). By His own people, He was treated like a criminal (Matthew 27:15-26) and was rejected to the point of crucifying Him on the Cross. He could have called legions of angels to deliver Him then (Matthew 26:53) but He chose not to. Through all these humiliations, Jesus has never failed to humble Himself to serve for the greater good of mankind- His death for the salvation for all who believed in Him.
Yes, humility is tied closely to service. We are willing to be “in service” because we choose to submit to a higher authority or cause for whatsoever reason or benefit. It is not totally wrong to serve God out of duty or to reap eternal rewards but it will be far better if we do so out of our love for Him. Perhaps then, there will be less complaints, conflicts and animosities as we humble ourselves to serve God out of love in the church, in our families and towards one another.
The opposite of humility is pride- the very sin that caused the downfall of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-17) and countless others. Pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18) but God will lift up those who are humble (James 4:10). Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-17) to show us the beauty of humility. Mark 10:45 states: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” May these scriptures and the song “I will serve Thee because I love Thee” be reminders of why we should humble ourselves and serve God not man.
8. Tenacity out of LOVE.
Tenacity is described as “the quality or fact of continuing to exist; persistence; mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship; the determination to continue what you are doing; grip firmly and never give up.”
Indeed, Jesus had shown all these qualities in His life on earth. He never gave in to the devil’s temptation (Matthew 4) and He never gave up when most of His followers left Him (John 6:60-70) or when He was dying (alone) with excruciating pain on the Cross. He was like a “one man-army”, most of the time alone, fighting battles against hordes of spiritual dark forces and the carnality of man.
The great exploits of Christian missionaries especially in the 16th to the 18th centuries were marked by men and women of God, who with tenacity and faith, spiritually conquered scores of unreached souls for Christ in the midst of much adversities in unknown territories and cultures. They gave up their comforts but not the cause!
Why do we give up? Is it because of the many failures, countless discouragement, inability to meet expectations or plain boredom? I think the crucial question is: “Is there still love in it?” If there is still love, we will not give up easily on someone or something, right? There may well be a limit to how much or how long we can love someone or something but if we focus on loving God as being our motivation, then it is limitless! Beliefs and positive thoughts or attitudes may bring us to some form of success but love will surely carry us far beyond.
9. Sacrifice out of LOVE.
June 21, 2019 in Guangzhou’s Liwan District, a Chinese couple put their own lives at risk and shielded their four-year-old daughter with their own bodies when their rented grilled house went up in flames. Unfortunately, when firefighters managed to reach the family, the mother had burned to death while the father made it out alive, although he was in critical condition. The child received serious head injuries.
Such is one of the many sacrifices parents are willing to make for their children. No matter the imperfections of parenthood and the disciplines received because of the child’s wrongdoings but when the crucial time for sacrifices is needed, the parents will usually be the first to offer.
Sadly, some ungrateful children expected and even demanded their parents to make sacrifices so that they can enjoy the luxuries of life. It pains to see elderly parents being treated like servants by their adult children, inhumanely shouted at with curses and vulgarities, deprived of any sense of respect, rest or appreciation that they so rightly deserved for all the sacrifices they have made in raising their children. Tragic but true! May the Lord have mercy!
Perhaps Jesus may have felt that way too. After all the sacrifices He had made, mankind still reject, replace and ridicule Him. However, like the father in the story of “The Parable of the Lost Son” in Luke 15:11-32, God will still receive, with opened arms, any prodigal son or daughter who will return and repent. How deep the Father’s love for us! (Song)
John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus spoke and lived these words. His sacrifice on the Cross for the salvation of mankind is the ultimate expression of God’s love.
John 3: 16: “For God so loved the world that He gave…”
Love gives and it can only continue to give not from any type of temporal romantic love but when it is from the abundance of God’s eternal agape love.
If you are called to sacrifice, do it out of love; if not, it’ll just be a good effort with no eternal value!