With all lowliness

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, - Ephesians 4v1-2

The more I read and study the word of God this time through the more I see that much of my philosophy of life and the ministry is mixed up and convoluted. I am one of those people who loves the limelight. I like being the centre of attention. Sadly I have far too often carried that over into my life and ministry.

As Paul switches from the principles of church work to the practicality of it he starts with an injunction to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” The very first word in his list of principles is “lowliness.” Today we use the word “humility” to express this thought. It is the same first principle Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount.

John MacArthur and others tell us that at the time there was no word for this mindset in either Greek of Latin. Some scholars claim that this word was a neologism created by Paul under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to describe a trait which is at the first of the believer’s list.

The word used here deals with a lowness in the core of a being. It speaks of a lowness that comes from deep down inside. As we study the church we see this trait described over and over again. I have to say that it is a trait that I have rarely seen as an example in the decades of my Christian life. Yet, I can’t use that as an excuse – my flesh balks at lowliness because of my pride.

We were at a church in Northern Ireland this weekend. We were able to go to both the children’s club Friday night and the morning service yesterday. It is a little church of maybe two dozen. As I watched this church function I was amazed at their lowliness, especially their leaders. The leaders of the church functioned in perfect union and harmony. Each church member had their role and leaders led, but the key trait among them all was lowliness. Every one simply did their part. It was clear that no role was any less or more important than the others.

This is how the body of Christ functions. We have one head, Jesus. Each other part of the body functions together. The eye has no room for high-mindedness any more than ear, the toe, the tongue, or the hand. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 12 there is a clear indication that when God honours a part of the body He honours the least obvious part.

The question is not about seeing lowliness in my examples. The question is about how rarely I have seen lowliness in me. Am I willing to replace the limelight with the lowlight?