WEEK 2
Humility In Loving
Seeing Clearly
OBJECTIVE: to understand that the dynamic of Christian spirituality is
loving God and others.
DEFINING LOVE: The motivation for Christian love is not external but
internal. It is a quality of the one who is loving rather than a
quality of the one being loved. For instance, one may say
that he loves his wife because she has a great personality,
she is kind and affectionate, etc. Or, one may say that he
loves his mother simply because she is his mother. There
are qualities about these persons that prompt that
individual to love them. Christian love (i.e. love that is akin
to God’s love), however, needs no external qualities to
prompt it. God loves because He is love. Therefore, God’s
love is extended without favoritism. This love is exemplified
in the life of Jesus Christ.
The dynamic of Christian spirituality is found in loving God and others. What, you may be asking, does this have to do with humility? Christian love and humility are inseparable. Christian love is not a natural attribute of mankind. It is a gift of and from God. Humility supplants one’s natural self-centeredness with affection for God and others. The self-existence of God has neither need nor desire for self-absorption. He is able, therefore, to love unconditionally. His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, has neither need nor desire for self-absorption and self-gratification. He is free to love both God and man unconditionally. Christ has not only given His people an example to live by but He also gave them the Holy Spirit that they might be empowered to love in humility.
The Bible is replete with examples and instructions in Christian love. They are certainly too numerous to list here. But below are found a few passages that will be helpful in understanding the dynamic of Christian spirituality. As you prayerfully consider these passages be aware of the connection between Christian love and humility. Loving God and others in humility is the only way that one will ever see clearly in his spiritual journey.
Deuteronomy 7:7,8 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number then any of the people, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your fore-fathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hands of pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Israel had no reason to boast of their station as the “chosen people”. The choice, it is clear, was a matter of divine grace. God’s gracious choice of Israel as a people originated in the love of God. His gracious deliverance of Israel out of bondage gave them no reason to boast. Israel was insignificant until the LORD chose them and delivered them out of the hand of the oppressor.
Deuteronomy 10:19 “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”
God’s gracious acts were examples of mercy, love and grace for Israel to emulate. Their humble beginnings were to be a constant reminder of the love and grace of God. The feasts of Passover and of the Tabernacles recalled annually Israel’s humility and God’s love for Israel. But the lives of God’s people were to reflect daily the love and mercy of God in all their activities.
Isaiah 63:9 “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them; and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.”
The prophet recalls the compassionate love and mercy of the LORD. This compassion should be evident in God’s people. When humility is replaced by pride and compassion with self-centeredness, God’s people can no longer follow His divine path. There is no where else for them but the way of the world.
Matthew 22:37-40 “And Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
The heart of Christian doctrine and spirituality is found clearly expressed in this passage. Loving God with all of one’s being and loving others unconditionally is the dynamic of Christian spirituality. As a religion, Judaism could be content with organizing the rules and regulations of that religion in any way they desired. But for the “water” of their religion to be changed to the “wine” of relationship it was necessary for them to see beyond the particulars of the law and prophets. All of the law and the prophets could be understood in these two commandments.
Luke 6:31-35 “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them… But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
The “Golden Rule” is primarily ethical. It is directed toward one’s relationship with others. It is a superior love to that of natural man. It is love that knows no boundaries – loving one’s enemies. It is goodness from a pure heart – doing good and lending without any motive other than unconditional love. Again, God is the example set for His people to emulate. God is kind to both the unthankful and to the wicked. His people should follow His lead. Not only is this wonderfully revealed in the life of Jesus Christ, but it is also seen in God’s dealings with Israel. God loved His people and extended His kindness to them even when they were unthankful and acted wickedly. This is the high standard of ethical behavior set before God’s people in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
John 13:34,35 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
The commandment to love one’s neighbor as he does himself was not a new commandment. The Jews had heard it before. (cf. Leviticus 19:18) But they had never heard it taught in such a way. Jesus was giving this commandment in a fresh and new way. The phrase, "As I have loved you", personalizes this commandment. The context of this statement is on the eve of Christ’s offering up. He had humbled Himself before His own disciples in washing their feet, “He loved them to the end” [John 13:1]. He gave of Himself fully for others in faithful obedience to God the Father. To do likewise, was His commandment to all who would follow Him. Humility and love meet together perfectly in the life of Jesus Christ as an example to God’s people.
Romans 5:5 “… the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.”
No man can live up to such a high ethical standard through his own power. Sin has darkened the understanding and weakened the will of man. Loving is not only ethical but it is also spiritual. God has made it possible for His people to love, as Christ has loved them, through the gift of His Holy Spirit. God has not singled out a few hearts bless with this power to love. But God has given His people His Spirit that they might share His love.
Philippians 2:2 “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
The dynamic of Christian spirituality is not what is often called, “doctrinal soundness”. The dynamic is unconditional love – the same love that is “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit”. If God’s people would live according to the loving power of God’s Spirit then being of one accord would no longer be an issue.
1 John 2:10 “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.”
Love and Light abide together in the Christian heart. People stumble over the unseen when there is no light. Christians stumble in their relationship with others when they fail to love them.
Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Believers must never fail in loving unconditionally as they await the final consummation of His love in Christ’s appearing.
A Look into the History
Of Christian Spirituality
God
does not conceive love for the soul by considering its greatness, but by
considering the greatness of its humility…
O
sweetest love of God that is so little known! He who has found the vein of this
mine has found rest.
(John
of the Cross, Counsels of Love and Light)
All the great contemplatives of Church history have understood the relationship between humility and love. The greatness of God’s love was best shown by the humility of His Son. John of the Cross recognized the source of all blessing to be the love of God. This great spring was to be sought by the wise above all else. But one who sought for this fountain of blessing could find it only in humility - the greater the humility, the greater the awareness of these blessings.