PILGRIM'S PROGRESS – THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:3-8)
"Then Christian said, 'It appears that going down the hill is going to be as difficult and dangerous as it was climbing up the hill.' 'Yes,' said Prudence, 'it is a hard thing for a man to go down into the Valley of Humiliation … without slipping and falling….' "
Going down-hill – that is, being humbled – is a difficult thing. Some people slip and fall because they are humiliated. Many people do not come to Christ because they are not willing to humble themselves to acknowledge their need for a Savior.
The Lord Jesus was the great example of humility when He humbled Himself. He – the King of Heaven and the Lord of Hosts – gave it all up to humble Himself to become a human and experience the poverty and pain of this world. He didn't have to do it. But he was willing because of His great love for us. Love was the only thing that nailed Him to the Cross, which was a place of great humiliation. He was stripped of His dignity. He was stripped of his clothing, spit upon, beaten, mocked, forced to carry His cross, hanging as a criminal between other criminals. But these were not the greatest indignity. Carrying the sins of the world when He was without sin – that must have been the greatest humiliation for the Lord of Glory.
God calls us to have the mind of Christ, which means humbling ourselves as He did. God says He "resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He my exalt you in due time" (I Peter 5:5-6). Humbling ourselves under God's mighty hand and admitting our sin and failure is not easy because it goes against our pride. But it is the only way to gain release from them. Going through the Valley of Humiliation is not a choice; it is a requirement if we are to follow Christ.
Love, Dad
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