Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)
These words of Jesus are actually used twice in the gospels. Here in Matthew and also in Luke 14 in conjunction with the “Parable of the Wedding Feast.”
As I write this, the Lueck family has had quite the week with the accolades Holden received with a football game he played in. The night of the game he scored two touchdowns including the game-winner on an interception. As you can imagine his father was quite proud. I was feeling pretty good that evening. After the game Toni and I watched Holden on the field being interviewed by the local newspaper and TV station. The “exaltation” was sky high.
Then came the humbleness. Toni said that we had to collect all the sweaty, mud-caked jerseys because she was taking them home to wash them. I collected a good amount in a garbage bag and made my way to the car. As I walked through the mud and muck the Lord reminded me of this verse I have put before you. The father of the star player that night was “humbled” by carrying the smelly uniforms to said vehicle. From proud peacock to the prodigal with the pigs in a matter of minutes. You gotta love the Lord!
Jesus was exalted with a parade through the streets of Jerusalem. Within a matter of days he was humbled through His obedience on the cross. He took our sweaty, dirty, stinky, filthy clothes of unrighteousness over his back and made them clean again. When He rose on Easter Sunday His humbleness had exalted us to a life of forgiveness and an eternal field where we will be clothed in the uniform of righteousness for His name’s sake.
In Christ,
Pastor