I've been asking the Lord to teach me humility. And, oh man! Is He teaching me.
Fire in the Night seems to indicate that there is “fire on the altar” during the night. Meaning that as intercessors and worshipers we act as priests in the tabernacle of David, offering praise and petitions before the Lord in the night hours when others are sleeping. However, I'm learning there's a different fire that we are put through in this internship. And it's the fire of testing. Specifically the testing of our heart, our thought processes, our responses to situations, boiled down to the testing of our Christ-likeness.
This has definitely been the case when it comes to interpersonal relationships. That is the place of testing of true humility and servant hood. As a great teacher said, "Everyone wants to be a servant until they're treated like one." How true. Whether it's your roommate not replacing the toilet paper roll when it's barren (seriously!? Why is that so difficult!?), or being constantly cut-off because someone's intellectual theological thought or revelation is so much more important than yours in the moment, or they're just the louder person so they get heard over you, to people having an experience with the Lord that is so distracting and immature, our responses really show us what is in us.
In all that Jesus did He showed Himself to be a Servant. In John 13 we see that Jesus is about to partake in Passover with His disciples and John says at this point the Lord “loved them to the end,” or in the NLT “showed them the full of extent of His love.” It wasn't at the cross that He showed them the full extent, or to where He loved them unto the end (which was at the cross), but He displayed His love in fullness at the Passover meal. What did He do that displayed that love? He washed His disciples feet. In a culture where foot washing was done generally by the lowest servant of the house and generally upon arrival or preordained right before the feast, Jesus deliberately took on the job of washing His disciples feet. No one else seemed to think, “The Teacher is here! We should wash His feet.” Or maybe they did but were waiting for another time. Either way, no one else ended up doing it before Jesus got to it. He didn't make a spectacle of it, as John observes Jesus got up, took off his robe, wrapped Himself in a towel and started washing the disciples' feet. When He approached Peter, however, Peter had to ask him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” I like to imagine that Peter was like, “Sincerely, Jesus? Are you for serious? YOU the Son of God (for Peter had that revelation earlier) are going to wash my feet? I don't think so...” Jesus responded by saying that He has given them an example as a Teacher and Lord that they should also wash each others' feet. This example and invitation to enter into His humility is extended to us.
However, this is not only the humility of Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God, for Jesus says, a servant is not greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent Him. And we know Jesus was sent by the Father. We also know in John 5:19 that the Son can do nothing of His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. If both of these statements by Jesus are true (and they are, mind you) then that would mean the Father is constantly a Servant. In all that the Father does He is serving you and me. And if the Father serves me, then I must serve others!
In light of all this I am able to view all of these instances that test my emotions, my patience, and all other aspects of myself in relation to Christ-likeness as an opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters. Having experienced and continually experiencing the service of the Lord, I am able to pray, “God give me the mind of Christ - the same mind that made Himself nothing, taking the form of a bondservant, humbling Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross.” Now, being able to see these circumstances as an answer to the prayer, “make me like Christ,” I am beginning to see the fruit – the fulfillment of the testing: steadfastness in my identity in God; having my emotions unshaken and not allowing anxiety to rise up in me or take root, but taking joy in being more like the Father.
I don't know about you, but when I grow up, I want to be just like my Dad.
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