Setting the Scene

It's such a blessing to be a part of a small group that is willing to give up a Sunday afternoon to go to the Dollar Tree, buy 80+ gifts for children, and then deliver them at a trailer park........ in the pouring rain. Here's to you Trevor, Parker, Thomas and Eric (we missed the rest of you).

While there, we were so very blessed handing out gifts to these kids. Many of their faces lit up upon receiving the gifts! It's exciting to be reminded that we are truly blessed to be a blessing... we are merely stewards of the money God has given us and need to use it wisely.

Two quick stories from the last 25ish hours:

While at the trailer park, a kid named "Alfonso" became our guide and pointed out all of the trailers with children. But before we began walking around, we gave him two gifts. He asked us what kind of church we were from, and when we replied 'Christian', he said that he was Catholic and asked, "Are we enemies?" Also, upon hearing that we were Christian, he became very downcast and told us that he needed to return the gifts (because he is Catholic). Oh my- what kinds of things is he being taught?! I pray that the love of Jesus was shining through us to him today...

Also, although I have never technically cried during a movie, I have come close or at least wanted to in a few movies (The Passion of the Christ, West Side Story, Pearl Harbor, and The Power of One to name a few)... but last night I came closer than I ever have before. As Dad and I were watching the end of It's a Wonderful Life together, the tears were welling up in my eyes as Jimmy Stewart was running down the street yelling, "Merry Christmas!", kissing his children, and the neighbors and friends were all blessing him with gifts and encouraging words because his wife had spread the word that he was in need. It was a wonderful picture of community and love... it's just a fabulous movie and it really moved both Dad and me (although we have seen it many times before). If you haven't seen it yet, forgive me for ruining the ending but be sure to watch it this Christmas season.

I'm putting the last "Radical Love" installment on hold for a bit to bring you something I've been thinking about recently...

I was reading Daniel last night (chapters 1 and 2) and was reminded how much I love Daniel. He is one of my favorite characters in the Bible because of his faithfulness and dedication to God in a foreign land. The second chapter contains the story of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and interpretation. Quick recap: Nebuchadnezzar had been having some dreams, didn't know what they meant, and told all of his "wise men" that unless they could interpret the dream, all of the wise men in his whole kingdom would be put to death. Oh- but there was a catch: he wouldn't tell them the dream. They had to not only interpret the dream, but know what dream to interpret!

The Chaldeans (wise men) start freaking out, but when Daniel hears of the decree, he "replied with prudence... and discretion" (v. 14). And the first thing he did after setting up an appointment with the king? He went to his buddies, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and asked them to "seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery..." When God revealed the dream and interpretation to heaven, the first thing Daniel did was he "blessed the God of heaven." (v. 19) Verses 20-23 are a beautiful prayer of praise and thanks... this was how much Daniel valued God!

Finally, Daniel goes to the king and when the king asks him, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” (v. 26), Daniel's response is beautiful and brilliant and gives us a great view into his heart after God (v. 27-28): "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days."

Daniel automatically throws away any notion that he did this one his own or even had any part in it. "No wise men..." Daniel discredits himself in this listing of people that can not "show to the king the mystery that the king has asked", but God is the one that makes this mystery known to the king. And what is the result? The king's response to the interpreted dream (v. 47): “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” So Daniel was living out Matthew 5:16 and 1 Peter 2:11-12 before they were written: doing goods deeds so that others would praise God, not him.

The biggest thing I took from this story last night was that when the king decreed that all the wise men would be killed if no one could not only interpret but tell him what the dream was, God was merely setting the stage for him to receive the greatest amount of glory. Daniel understood that God was in control and trusted and loved Him enough to believe that God would do what was best for Himself, even if it meant Daniel dying (this is even further revealed through chapter 3, especially verses 16-18).

I was reminded of this principle in this morning's message at Commonwealth Chapel. John Wagler was talking about how much joy he got from a lunch with his son Max, and a main reason for this joy was because of the hardships he and his wife faced when they had trouble having children for some years before Max and Neveah's birth. But in all of this time, God was setting the stage so that He would get the greatest amount of glory.

This brings me great encouragement as I'm at a point in life where I don't know what exactly God has for me next. The exciting thing is that I know that God is merely setting the stage to get the maximum amount of glory through my life- one of my greatest desires and my purpose in life. How is God setting the stage in your life?

During these times of trial and "mystery", do as Daniel did: don't freak out (respond with prudence and discretion), call upon friends and family to pray with you in the situation, and when God brings you through, be sure He alone gets the glory.

Father- grant me the heart of Daniel, that You may receive all honor, glory, power and praise through my life.

Grace and peace...

Luke

Radical Love- Part Deux

A quick thought(s) before I get into part 2:

The Lord has been really revealing to me how, though I love to look at the disciples and try to compare my life to their lives, I'm much more like the young boy who gave his small meal (two fish and five loaves- John 6). Like that young boy, I have not much to offer at all. I am one of the masses, just striving to hear Jesus. But like that young boy, if I give what little I have to the Master, He will multiply it and bless thousands (or more). This blog is a product of the Lord- I give what little gifts the Lord has given me back to Him and I pray that it is Him writing in and through me- all glory to Him.

Another thought- I want my heart to be like the king's heart in Proverbs 21:1- "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will." Streams are constantly moving- they are not ponds or lakes, but on-the-go. Streams also give life to creation, whether it be animals or plants. But I want my heart to be directed by the hand of the Lord, letting Him lead and guide me, and filled with the Living Water. Oh Lord- this is my prayer!

Part 2: Loving non-believers

I want to begin by saying that if you don't share my belief in the risen Saviour Jesus Christ and are reading this blog- I am deeply appreciative that you are reading! I mean not to ostracize you or put you in any sort of negative light... this is merely a call to action and a higher standard for those in the Body of Christ. Please feel e-mail me! I would love to discuss this further with you: Nashty4Him@gmail.com.

While visiting my dear friend Kyle up at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I had the opportunity to go into the library and read some great books. One of them (Unfortunately, I cannot remember which at this moment) made the interesting observation that while Jesus called those who desired to follow Him to a very high standard, the people who were most attracted to Him were those furthest away from this standard: tax collectors and prostitutes, among others. He calls His followers to give all they have to the Lord, deny themselves, take up their instrument of suffering (cross) daily, love their enemies, and much more... How is it that these people desired to follow Him although He preached a very strict way of life?

I believe it was because of His love. Clearly, because God is love and Jesus was God in the flesh, this was love at its truest and best form. Just think of how he treated the woman who wept at his feet and poured precious perfume over his feet (Luke 7)- He loved her. He didn't disgrace her like others wanted to, but loved and forgave her, seeing her heart.

At the cross (Luke 23), surrounded by "criminals", instead of complaining about dying in such a lowly estate, He had compassion on the criminal who believed in Him.

In Luke 18, when the two men entered the temple to pray, would not the majority of us figured that the Pharisee- the one who lived according to the "rules", diligently living a good life- be the one justified before God? I would have. But Jesus saw beyond what we can see- He saw their hearts. He loved the one who would "not even lift up his eyes up to heaven, but beat his breast, saying 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner'."

Finally, when Jesus saw Zacchaeus in Luke 19, did He just overlook this man because he was a thief and tax collector? By no means. He saw that Zacchaeus earnestly desired to be with Him, and disregarding what others would think of Him, He went to Zacchaeus' house. But this is one of the best examples of Jesus' love: He didn't just love them and leave it at that- Jesus' love was a transforming love. His love was so powerful that it caused Zacchaeus to give all that he had (essentially, if you factor in all that he promised to give).

These people loved Jesus and desired to follow Him because He didn't just assume that, due to their external appearance, they would have nothing to do with Him. He didn't assume that they were terrible people because of past events/circumstances, but loved them with a transforming love. Did this happen with every single prostitute, tax collector, etc. that came into contact with Jesus? I don't believe so, but the very fact that so many did turn from their old ways teaches us an important lesson: never assume.

I am terribly guilty of this: seeing someone in a mean state, poor, maybe homeless, begging... and assume. I hear of people doing terrible things... and assume. What if I stopped assuming and started investigating, seeing how and why they are the way they are?

A friend of mine growing up was Chris Arnold. On our summer missions trips in middle school, he was known as the super-hyper and (to many) annoying kid. He would come in to the "teen" room screaming to wake us up and many of the "cool" teens disliked him greatly. But on our first trip together, I got to hear something that few others knew: that his Mom was in a very rough state of health and had been for a while, and that he had lost his older brother a few years before. I'm not giving him 100% excuse for being the way he was back then, but the Lord put a love in me for Chris that I can't describe- a transforming love. He and I became good friends and I had the privilege of discipling him for a few years in middle and high school. I had the privilege of watching him transform from the "annoying" kid into a man who did earnestly seek the Lord.

He tragically passed away last year, but one of my fondest memories of with him involved when we were instant messaging during my freshman year at JMU. He was telling me how God was working in his life and how grateful he was to God. I was tremendously humbled at that moment, recognizing that God has used me- a self-centered, broken vessel of His- to influence this guy's life and push him towards Christ. I do miss him even as I write this, as do many others, but I also believe that we will see him again one day...

How easy it is for us to figure that "loving" others is just treating them nicely, not hating them. How easy it is for us to think that because someone is struggling with some form of addiction that they are beyond our ability to help... to love.

So radically loving those who don't yet know Jesus involves not only praying for them (which I don't do nearly enough), but loving them "deeply, from the heart" (1 Peter 1:21) with a love that only Jesus can provide: a transforming love. Pray for that love.

Love radically. Live with the mind of Christ, seeing people through His eyes with His heart. Do it all for the glory of God...

Humbled...

Luke

In honor of Christopher Arnold, 19 August, 1989 to 7 September, 2009, a great friend and brother in the Lord. We love you buddy and miss you... see you again someday.

Radical Love- Part 1

I've been prayerfully planning on doing a three-part blog on "Radical Love", influenced in part by the fantastic book "Radical" by David Platt, but more because I see that loving people and loving God is an area of weakness in my life. So here we go.

This is part 1, and I will be writing more specifically on the second greatest commandment, "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). If you're looking to learn more about loving God, read "Loving God with All You've Got" by Sunder Krishnan. It's a fantastic book that addresses this issue wonderfully.

Before I get into part 1, though, a short word on love. Most people refer to 1 Corinthians 13 as the "love chapter", because it is all about love. If you aren't familiar with it, I strongly encourage you to go read it right now, as it is a phenomenal chapter on what love truly is. But I would present 1 John 4 as a chapter in the Bible that is just as important when it comes to talking about love. 1 John 4:8 states that "God is love." This statement is essential to knowing what love is, for while 1 Corinthians 13 describes love brilliantly, 1 John 4 tells us plainly and firmly what love is. 1 John 4:19 is very important, as well: "We love because He first loved us." If He didn't love us first, we wouldn't be able to love anyone else. So in seeking to love others better, this is a main thing I learned- we need to learn what it means to be loved by God.

Part 1- Radical Love as loving the Body of Believers

1 John 4:7 says "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." So we're called to love one another. For a long time I looked at loving people as being able to "bear" them or "stand" them. I thought that even if a brother in Christ was provoking me (or vice-versa), as long as I could be in his presence without doing or saying anything stupid, I was obeying the command. Nope. I was way off.

Remember that 1 Corinthians 13 I was referring to earlier? I challenge you to take that definition of love (specifically verses 4-7) and insert it whenever the Bible (and especially Jesus) says "Love". "Love your enemies". Ok- so I need to be patient with my enemies, be kind to them, not boast over them, not be irritable or resentful with them, bear all things from them, endure all things... etc. etc. Crazy, right!? But what did Jesus do? Turn to the end of any of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and see how Jesus endured patiently, was kind and not boasting... and we're called to walk as He did (1 John 2:6).

Not just with our enemies, but with our brothers and sisters in the Lord! The sad thing to me is that when I think of any "enemies" that I may have had in the past (or still have?), the only people that come to mind are people who profess to be brothers in Christ (and I truly believe are). There have been times in our college or high school careers that I did something that made them angry and then there was a rift between us for a long period of time- disunity in the Body! I am not exempt in this scenario by any means- I have been at part of the fault, definitely- but the majority of the time I have sought to make peace and sometimes it happened, other times not so much (see Romans 12 and Matthew 18 for more guidance).

I think of loving the Body of believers differently now. Hebrews 10:24 is another verse that has really helped that: "And let us spur one another on towards love and good deeds." Don't just be able to bear being in their presence, but as the body of Christ, we are called to spur one another on towards love and good deeds! What have you done today/this week/this semester that has spurred your brother or sister on towards loving others better? To doing good deeds? And this is what the author of Hebrews is saying we're called to do: spur each other on.

Synergy is a word that comes to mind when I think about this. When I was on the executive board for IV at JMU (a phenomenal time of growth), this word came up when we thought about how we desired our chapter to be. Synergy means, according to dictionary.com: "The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects." So, when they come together, these two (or more) "agents" have a greater combined effect than the sum or their individual efforts. When we're spurring each other on towards love and good deeds, this is happening. We are greater for the sake of Christ together than we are apart.

Finally, Mr. Ian Thomsen provided an excellent illustration for how we should be loving each other. Please read this excerpt from his Sports Illustrated article, talking about professional basketball arenas:

"In Europe, the mood is entirely different (than in the United States). The fans chant and sing and generate their own entertainment. The most passionate supporters in Europe don't want to be entertained by the players -- they aim instead to inspire the team while enjoying themselves."

The European basketball fans don't go and pay to watch basketball games asking "what can we get out of this game?" The most "passionate" fans don't care about being entertained- "they aim instead to inspire the team while enjoying themselves".

What if the Body of Christ looked like this? What if instead of us constantly asking "what have you done for me lately?" to each other, we sought NOT to get anything from each other but instead to inspire our brothers and sisters around us to love God and love others through good deeds? This is what I believe the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote "spur one another on towards love and good deeds." This is what I believe Paul meant when writing about being "unified in the Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12). And this is what I'm confident Jesus was talking about when He prayed in John 17 that we "may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me."

Be unified, inspiring and spurring each other on toward love and good deeds, not so that the world can see and praise us, but that they may praise God and He would receive all the glory.

Matthew 5:16-
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

1 Peter 2:12-
"Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evil-doers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

Love radically, brothers and sisters, for the sake of Christ, in the Name of Christ.

For His glory...

Luke

Holiness

Reading the Word the other day, I began to ponder what it means to be "holy". My favorite passage on the subject is 1 Peter 1, especially verses 13-16:

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

Growing up, the word holy was tossed around a lot in my vocabulary- specifically "Holy Cow". The word "cow" was often substituted for whatever word was popular around that time, including words such as "cheese" and "schniekies". I remember briefly discussing with either my parents or a Sunday School teacher how cows/cheese/etc. weren't necessarily "holy", but that didn't stop my usage of the word. It did seem a tad bit odd that I would say "holy cow" and then each Sunday/Wed. night would sing "Holy is the Lord!" The two didn't seem to compare but, again, it didn't really matter to me too much.

According to an OT Word Study, 'The words "holy" or "sanctify" are often interpreted to mean "righteous" or "pure" or something similar. But the basic concept of the word qadosh and its related words is that of "apartness" or "distinction." (www.christianleadershipcenter.org) Strong's Concordance defines "holy" and the Hebrew word qadosh as "set apart". As Peter writes in his epistle, God is holy- perfectly holy, at that. There is nothing unholy about Him. This is why the four living creatures in Revelation are flying around singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty..." (Rev. 4:8) Get used to the word "holy"- it appears that we'll be singing it for a long time. So as I pondered the word "holy" and it's meaning, the analogy of basketball shoes came to mind.

My basketball shoes might not be top-of-the-line, but I try to treat them like they are. I have literally "set" them "apart" from my other shoes, because I want them to last as long as possible. My ballin' shoes are used exclusively for playing basketball, and only on indoor surfaces (preferably hardwood). I don't use them to walk around, to play soccer, football, frisbee, or play in the rain. Why not? Because that's not what they were made for. They function best when they are doing what they were created to do.

We need to treat ourselves like basketball shoes. God created us to be holy, we screwed it up, but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (according to the Father's will, for His glory), we are called again to be "holy", just as He is holy. This command is found throughout the Bible- including Leviticus 11:44, in 1 Peter 1:16.

You may have heard the word "sanctification" used before- it means "to be made holy", and this is the process of the Spirit working in our lives to make us more like Christ. But if it's something the Spirit needs to do inside of us, why does Peter say "Be holy"? Because we've been given a choice to follow Christ (or not to). Many times I, myself, fail mightily in this area, choosing the worldly, temporary pleasures over the eternal Treasure I've been given.

Going back to my childhood, I remember quoting the made-up verse "Be in the world, but not of the world" (it's actually a combination of John 17:11 and 16), and using this "verse" to justify my ventures into worldliness. "It's a great way to witness!" I would tell myself, thinking it necessary to know (experience) the world in order to be a great witness. But in growing in my understanding of the word "holy" and our calling to be holy, as our Father in Heaven is, I see that it means being distinct from the world. Set apart from worldly pleasures, etc.

2 Timothy 2:20-22: "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

Recognize- we're called to "cleanse" ourselves from the worldly things, not immerse ourselves in them. Does this mean we should go all 'legalistic' and abstain from everything the world throws at us? Not necessarily. But don't call someone legalistic when they seek to abstain from the world (be it wine/alcohol, certain movies, TV shows, etc) out of love for God and a desire to honor Him.

I encourage you to take a minute or two and prayerfully consider this question: am I setting myself apart as "holy" unto the Lord- distinct from the world? And even moreso, am I setting myself apart not just from things, but from a worldly mindset when it comes to approaching all aspects of life?

This is not an easy process- sanctification. Looking a little earlier in 1 Peter 1 (it's really a gem of a chapter), you'll see Peter write about the testing of faith being like "gold being refined by fire" (v. 7). It's painful! But glorious- not for us, but for Jesus Christ.

Simple encouragements for pursuing holiness: make Jesus THE priority of your life. Not a priority. Not the top priority. But THE priority. When you do this, you will see the rest of life through His eyes and He will receive all the glory. Romans 12:1-2 and verses 13-15 are great starting places for pursuing holiness. Don't conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by Christ. Is it really such a bad thing to be seen as "different" by people of the world? Isn't that what we're called to be (1 Peter 2:11-12)?

Be the basketball shoes. Pursue holiness for the glory of God. Worship Him for His holiness in all you do.

In His love...
Luke

The Humility of being Humbled

I have the privilege of leading a small group of guys with Chi Alpha at VCU, and this past week we studied Philippians 2:3-6. We ended up getting into a discussion about humility (naturally, considering the passage) and I taught according to what I interpreted certain passages to mean. Admittedly, I didn't prepare as thoroughly as I should have, and after studying much more the following day, I typed up a 'retraction' e-mail to send to my guys. Below is the body of my e-mail; what I believe humility to be according to the Holy Scriptures.

Food for thought:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. -CS Lewis

Humility cannot be achieved by human effort alone, but it's a natural fruit born from a strong relationship with the Lord. (John 15:5) That being said, Paul does call us to "put on... humility" at least twice (Eph. 4:2, Col. 3:12), so it's evident that we have a responsibility to discipline ourselves in growing in our relationship with the Lord. The believer grows towards humility as his understanding of how amazing God is expands. The greater our knowledge becomes, the more we absolutely are humbled, knowing that we cannot begin to compare to something so incredible. As we Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves, humility will come (Mark 12:30-31).

Humility is seeking God's approval alone- not man's praise. (Galatians 1:10; Luke 18:18-19)
When Jesus says "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God alone." I used to assume that he meant that He didn't consider Himself good and was distancing Himself from the Father. After reading Matthew Henry's commentary on the passage, however, it is not that Jesus didn't consider Himself equal with God, but instead He was not seeking man's praise, but giving it to God. He understood that He IS good and the very essence of God (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15), but because his purpose was to exalt God in all that He did, when the man tried to heap praise on Jesus, He so desired for God to receive the glory that He responded with a question and gave it to Him. He did not deny being good, which is something I never noticed before. Henry finishes the conversation: "Why callest thou me good? Thou knowest there is none good but one, that is, God. And doest thou take me for God? If so, thou art right."
Rob Rhoden wrote in a recent blog post that "[Jesus] never looked for affirmation from those around Him but only from His heavenly Father", and as we're called to follow His example, this must be our attitude towards praise, as well.
Adam Clarke writes in his commentary of Philippians 2:5-6: "...the word arpagmon, which we translate 'robbery', has been supposed to imply a thing eagerly to be seized, coveted, or desired; and on this interpretation the passage has been translated: 'Who, being in the form of God, did not think it a matter to be earnestly desired to appear equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation"... However the word be translated, it does not affect the deity of God.
In the ESV Study Bible, it writes "Remarkably, Christ did not imagine that having 'equality with God' (which he already possessed) should lead Him to hold onto His privileges at all costs. It was not something to be grasped, to be kept and exploited for his own benefit or advantage. Instead, He had a mind-set of service. "Christ did not please Himself" (Romans 15:3). In humility, He counted the interests of others as more significant than His own." So although Christ knew He was equal with God, He didn't exploit that or use it to His own advantage, but instead gave God all the credit and glory (although He Himself was God).

Humility is striving to make much of God in everything you think, say and do. (Philippians 1:20; John 3:30) Just as Paul desired for Christ to be magnified in his body, whether that meant life or death, and John the Baptist understood this truth as well, stating the importance of making much of God in all he did: "He must increase, but I must decrease." The more we seek to make much of God, the less we will think of ourselves. The more we seek to put on the "mind of Christ", the less we will dwell on whether or not we can think this or that and be swept away by the majesty of our Awesome God.

Humility is putting others before yourself, literally esteeming their needs and desires as more significant than your own (Phil 2:3-4)- God first and always, and other people around the world as a way of putting God first (Matthew 25; Mark 12:30-31).

Humility never thinks of oneself as "too good" for anyone or anything, but 'associates with the lowly'/gives itself to humble tasks. (Romans 12:16)

In summary, I now believe that I was wrong in my interpretation of Philippians 2:6. I believe that Jesus knew He was God incarnate and did not choose not to think about it, but He just had no desire for human praise or affirmation, which makes sense with His response in Luke 18. He was so caught up in the Father's glory and making Him known that He 'did not think it a matter to be earnestly desired to appear equal to God', although He knew that He was.

I think if we ask ourselves "if we're the best at what we do, how can we be humble about it?" The simple answer is to think of how amazing God is, and that alone should humble us. But as we persist in finding ways to be arrogant, we should strive to make much of God in all we do (the purpose of the Gospel, according to David Platt, Radical) and to put others before ourselves. In this way we will learn humility through action and fulfill Paul's exhortations in Ephesians and Colossians.

When our ultimate goal is to glorify and exalt God in all that we think, say, and do, and our greatest desire is to know God and make Him known, we stop thinking about ourselves and humility is born by Him, through Him and for Him.

Luke