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Who We Are

             For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)

            fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

            Let’s start with some uncomfortable honesty here. I have never understood what Paul meant by “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” I understand that God has distributed faith. I just don’t understand the “in accordance” part. Fortunately, that’s not the part of the verse that I’m asking you to consider today, and I suspect that if we’re doing the rest of the verse, the last phrase goes along for the ride.

            We’re still considering the idea of imitating Jesus. He was and is God, so it would be right for Him to think very highly of Himself. He would have been justified to have done a “See, I am God – bow before me and do homage” bit, complete with lightning, thunder, and earthquake.

            A couple of ideas about the humility of Christ that we should imitate, and that tie in with our priorities. He did not let who He is get in the way of His priorities. He didn’t let who anyone else was/is to get in the way of His priorities. This isn’t to say that He is brutal in His approach, but if providing salvation for us meant being treated like a slave or even a criminal, He would be treated like a slave or a criminal. Who He is would not and will not change, but for the moment, something else had priority. As the verse from Hebrews 12 says, for the joy set before Him… He set aside those things that would prevent that joy from being accomplished.

    It seems to me that someone who is secure in who he/she is can more easily forget about themselves than someone who is insecure. Jesus knew who He was. He didn’t have to prove Himself to anyone. I suspect that most of us aren’t like Him in that. But what if we figured out that in this or right now who we are isn’t  vital or essential?

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