For thousands of years the bending of a knee before a king, queen, or other authorative figure represented one’s love and devotion, as well as the qualities of humility and meekness as a person recognized the authority of their leader. Someone may have approached the king on his throne, and when they reached the throne they would kneel down before him, thus putting themselves in a lower level beneath the king, as a show of meekness and respect.
This is what we need to be like towards our God. We need to bring ourselves before Him in love and humility, and give Him the honor that He so rightly deserves. We need to humble ourselves before Him, so that someday He can lift us up.
1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”
I kind of defined it a little bit already, but “humble” means “to bring low; to reduce the power, independence, or exaltation of; to lower; to abase. To make humble or lowly in mind; to abase the pride or arrogance of; to make meek and submissive.” These are all great definitions of how a Christian should be before the Lord. Not arrogant, but meek. Not prideful, but lowly in mind. Not thinking of oneself higher than they ought to think, but to realize who they are: a sinner.
Humility is a very important virtue that everyone should possess, as it shows that a person realizes their own imperfections and faults. It shows that someone recognizes that they are not perfect, and if there is one thing that everyone should have realized by now is that they are not perfect, that everyone has sinned.
When we come to God in our prayers it should be to thank and praise Him for all of the things which He has done, as well as to ask Him for help in our times of need. Meekly beseeching Him for mercy.
However this is something that not everyone wants to do. Instead of abasing themselves before the Lord they will exalt themselves in pride. Their opinion of themselves is that they are wonderful and blameless, and deserve something from God because of something that they did.
Jesus used this example to teach us to have humility.
Luke 14:7-11 “And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;
And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.
But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
In the Lord’s parable Jesus teaches that whoever exalts themselves will be abased, and that those who humble themselves shall be exalted. But for some people, they think that because they are such wonderful, great people that they deserve to go to heaven, while the truth is that if it wasn’t for the love of Christ that none of us would be in heaven someday. Any things that we do for the Lord should be done because it is our duty to do them.
Luke 17:7-10 “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”
We are unprofitable servants of the Lord. So don’t become lifted up in pride and begin to think that your are deserving to be in heaven. Humble yourself before the Lord, bend that knee, so that one day you may be lifted up.
In Christ
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 