The Humility of God in Christ

I started this post, knowing I was writing it to post for Monday — Music Monday, that is. But I had no ideas for what song to post. I didn’t hear any song that had sparked the idea for a post this week. But God gave me the perfect song just as I finished writing this post, which you’ll see at the end.

Last week I received a C.S. Lewis quote in my Quotemeal email from Heartlight.org that I was not familiar with. I would like to cite to the book it is from, but I don’t know which one that is. But it was one of those quotes that just cried out to be the starting point for a blog post, and so I copied and pasted it and saved it as a draft. It was the only idea I had for my Monday post, so I started writing. Here’s the quote:

It is a poor thing to strike our colours to God when the ship is going down under us; a poor thing to come to Him as a last resort, to offer up “our own” when it is no longer worth keeping. If God were proud, He would hardly have us on such terms.    — C. S. Lewis

If God were proud, He would not have us at all, and certainly not as we called on Him only when we were in dire straits. But our Lord Jesus is not so proud, though He certainly had every right to be. Paul wrote to the Philippians:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
but made himself nothing,
   taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness. 
And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV).

So why do so many go their own way, thinking they are just fine without God, until things go wrong and they need to be saved? Why do so many not realize that from the day of their birth they are already in dire straits and in need of a savior? Why did I, for that matter, have to reach the depths of major depression to realize I truly needed God, before I “struck my colors to God” and called on Him for help? Why did I have to get to the point in my life where it seemed I had nothing worth giving before I offered all to Him?

The amazing thing is that He accepted me even then. On top of that, He took the nothing that I had and has turned it into something worthwhile. He took me, a poor, wretched and lost sinner, and turned me into a daughter of the King.

It may be a poor thing for us to cast our lot with God only when we have determined we have no other option. But it is not a worthless thing. No, it is the most worthwhile thing we could ever do; because Christ, in His humility, gave all so that you and I might be saved even as one hanging next to Him on the adjacent cross with no other options left to us.

Are you still moving through life thinking you don’t really need God? Are you waiting until you hit rock bottom to call out for Him to lift you from the pit? There is no doubt He will take you then, but why wait? You are already in need of His saving grace, His amazing grace, and He humbly awaits your cry.

So what’s the perfect song to go with this post? “Amazing Grace” sung by Elvis Presley. I have even heard this song this week, and we sang it in church a week ago. My son plays it on the ocarina and it is one of my all time favorite hymns. I think that the rendition by Elvis is appropriate because Elvis is one of those who had to hit rock bottom after flying sky high before he realized his true wretchedness and need for a savior.