Have You Been Spiritually Knocked Down a Notch?

Have you ever sat by the bedside of a very sick person? I mean very sick. So sick you're not even sure they know you are there. I think there are few other experiences that can make you feel as helpless and inadequate. Imagine, walking into a hospital room, to do your good deed, your pastoral duty, intent on providing inspiration and encouragement, because, after all, it is what you have been trained to do. You know what to say and what not to say. You've learned about where to stand and sit and the right posture to have. However, upon entering the room you are made immediately aware of the fact that, contrary to your inflated view of yourself, there is very little for you to offer. You realize that your words fail you and that your human skills are not enough.

It was a wake up call for me. A reminder to always be humble. A reminder that I have no real power or skill on my own. If I want to offer someone any real encouragement, especially someone who is very sick, I should always defer to someone else. Sometimes it is easy for me to forget this. I'll sometimes rest a little too much in the knowledge and skills I think I have and get a little complacent. It's hard sometimes not to rely too much on myself.

It's painful, but sometimes I really do need to be spiritually knocked down a notch.

And here is something amazing. Jesus chose to be knocked down a notch. Jesus had unimaginable glory with God from eternity past.  Jesus had power as well, because John tells us in his gospel that nothing was created without Jesus. And yet he chose to give it all up. Paul said in the often quoted Philippians 2 passage that Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7 NASB)

If I am to truly serve someone else, and if I am to truly model my life after Jesus, then the proper action for me to take is to empty myself of me. This may seem counter-productive to a Western/American way of thinking. We want to strong, self-made, self-sufficient, and to be the hero. But, in order to offer someone the very best of what I can give I need to teach myself that I am not the hero. Jesus is the hero. I am just a channel through which he comes.

There is actually a lot of freedom in this. Jesus, in all his power and glory, comes to hurting people through me. There is comfort in this, for the person we try to help, and for us as well. To sit in a chair, praying quietly next to someone isn't a defeat. It is being a channel through which victory comes. Victory in the name of Jesus Christ.