Chapter 3 Thoughts

There were two passages in this chapter that really stood out to me. 

The first describes Jesus’ humility with regard to His will and His powers.

He resigned Himself with His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in Him. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching, of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work; I am nothing, the Father is all.

What an amazing description of absolute nothingness.  It really made me think how contrary this attitude is to our culture.  We are taught from such a young age to perform well and strive and achieve in everything from behavior to sports to academics.  Our goal seems clear that we are to be the best.  Even in Christian circles we are to be set apart.  And yet, how often does our will and our power (ability) set our agenda?  I often pursue what I think is best and what I am good at or can control.   I am comfortable there.  I am comfortable thinking through a decision and even praying about it, but it is not natural for me to strive for nothingness.  I may acknowledge that God knows best and I may even believe it at my core, but if I am still thinking that my will and my power are factors and if I rely on that, then I am missing it.  I am not fully letting God work through me.  I know that in our homeschool, in being a parent, and in just my own walk with the Lord, I rarely seek to be nothing.  I am always looking for better ways to plan my time, better ways to incorporate time with the Lord throughout my day, better ways of handling parenting issues, and the list goes on.  I am always seeking to find the right answers and methods to fulfill my roles well.  Jesus lived His earthly life as an example that is astounding.  I am having such trouble adequately putting words to how the idea of Jesus, God as a human, could come to this Earth and empty Himself so completely of His will and power so that the Heavenly Father could do His work through Jesus.  I am thinking how as a parent and as a director, I need this more than ever.  I need to get me out of the way.  But here is the tricky part—I can’t strive to be nothing.  It seems I have to rest in being nothing.  I need to yield to God and become an empty vessel He can fill.

The other passage that really spoke to me as I read this chapter followed soon after the one above and discusses how this nothingness made it possible for Jesus to be a servant to man:

And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.  His humility was simply the surrender of himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, whatever men around might say of Him, or do to Him.

Wow.  So, first humbling yourself to God then makes it possible to be humble before men too.  No wonder I have trouble humbling myself with my children if I am not being humble to God.  No wonder the parenting part of my life feels tough if I think I have the answers.  If I don’t first humble myself to God—admit that I am the creature who is nothing—then how much more difficult I make my life.  As a director, I think this passage says it all.  My first calling is in my personal walk with the Lord and truly humbling myself to Him.  Making that relationship a priority and an appropriate one, will then make it possible to be humble and serve those around me authentically.  I relish the thought of this.  We have all been around people (or perhaps been the person) who serve ceaselessly at church or in the community and yet there is no life in it.  Their service is being given and the works may be getting done, but are hearts touched?  Is God pleased with our gritting our teeth and seeing it through because we have organizational skills and He gave us a brain to use?  I think He wants to rescue us from that battle.  I think He wants our service in the world to be joyful, not because we paste the smile on our faces, but because we have His joy in our hearts.  We are in a right relationship with our Creator and thus able to be in a right relationship with those around us even despite what others may say or do.  Isn’t that crucial for directors?  Isn’t that crucial for our roles as homeschooling parents trying to teach our children truth and teach them to be light in a dark world?