I was at a Gun range (G2G) the other day teaching a men’s Bible study, what I like to call a Manival, and afterwards some of the guys wanted to know what books are on my shelf and if I could recommend a few. So I did. But one that slipped my mind was a great little book (in size not stature) and as I was reading me some Andrew Murray today I thought “Dude I shoulda told those dudes about this book.”
As I read on I came across a text that fits well here on the blog. If you have yet to meet Mr. Murray, his passionate love for God, and his obsession with Jesus, I recommend you do so today. The book I’m reading is Humility.
Murray makes a keen observation that, as men, we can often give more attention to developing and displaying the “manlier” virtues like courage or wrestling a bear to enhance our morning devotions while devaluing those that are less glamorous such as humility. The truth though, is that Jesus is always our example of what a real man is and he is the most humble person to have walked the earth.
NOTE : Husbands your wives might enjoy cuddling up next to her big strong husband and hearing you read this aloud, so turn off the T.V.
From Humility –
In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the more human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal, self-sacrifice–even the old Stoics taught and practised these, while the deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, those which Jesus first taught upon earth, because He brought them from heaven; those which are more distinctly connected with His cross and the death of self-poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness, are scarcely thought of or valued. Therefore, let us put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness,long-suffering; and let us prove our Christlikeness, not only in our zeal for saving the lost, but before all in our intercourse with the brethren, forbearing and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave us.
Fellow-Christians, do let us study the Bible portrait of the humble man. And let us ask our brethren, and ask the world, whether they recognize in us the likeness to the original. Let us be content with nothing less than taking each of these texts as the promise of what God will work in us, as the revelation in words of what the Spirit of Jesus will give as a birth within us. And let each failure and shortcoming simply urge us to turn humbly and meekly to the meek and lowly Lamb of God, in the assurance that where He is enthroned in the heart, His humility and gentleness will be one of the streams of living water that flow from within us.
Read the rest of Murray’s book, Humility, online here.
Stay in HIS Grip –Mark