CHRIST THE TRUE PATTERN OF HUMILITY.
By D. T. Bourdeau
In studying the life of Christ, we are struck with the prominence of the grace of humility in his glorious character. He could say, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt. xi. 29, 30. Christ was eminently practical in his life. He exemplified by practice what he taught, and therefore was qualified to invite others to follow him, that with him they might enjoy the benefits of the doctrines he preached. His disciples had, doubtless, wondered in seeing the calmness he displayed in bearing the burdens that were rolled upon him; and here he gives them the secret of his success, showing them how he could enjoy rest under his great responsibilities, and amid all the trials, through which he was called upon to pass. And their experience might be similar to his in this respect. It was in learning of him to be meek and lowly in heart that they were to find rest to their souls, and to find that his yoke, which they were called upon to take upon themselves, was easy, and his burden light. The life of Christ was truly a life of humility and condescension. Though he was the Son of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with him, yet he willingly relinquished all the honors he had in Heaven, and made himself of no reputation, or, as the French version says, he “annihilated himself” in coming to earth, and being born in a manger; in taking upon himself the nature of man and the form of a servant, to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, to be despised and rejected of men, to suffer from poverty, and preach his gospel to the poor, to bear our diseases, and finally to bear our sins by dying the most shameful death, even that of the cross, that we, through his shame, sufferings, and poverty, might be made rich, and escape the justly-deserved wrath of God. Oh! what condescension! what self-denial! The blessed Redeemer might have avoided all this humiliation by remaining in Heaven with the Father and the angelic host, or he might have received more honor while upon earth; but all this he refused, in order to be our pattern. At one time, the people, upon seeing him perform a noted miracle, believed him to be “that prophet that should come into the world,” and would have taken him by force, to make him a king; but he secluded himself, that their object might be defeated, and that he might continue his humble work of self-denial for the salvation of men. On several occasions, he healed the sick, “charging them that they should not make him known,” and that they should “tell no man,” “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive (or contend), nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench.” Matt. xii. How many professed Christians there are, who would have eagerly accepted such a fine offer of being promoted to the throne, without stopping to consult as to its propriety. And if we are to judge a tree by its fruit, we may safely say that multitudes of professed followers of Christ are to be found, who, if they were favored with the gift of performing miracles, would be very anxious to have it known, and would be the first to display self by crying in the streets. But not so with the meek and adorable Saviour. He preferred to be little and unknown. The glory of God and the salvation of souls were uppermost in his words and actions. He who was so mighty in works, and “spake as never man spake,” acknowledged that his power and doctrine were not his, but came from the Father, who sent him. He was not heard, striving and crying in the streets, to display and aggrandize self, but to reprove sin, extol the truth, and exalt others, being very careful not to crush and destroy by selfish, rash, and overbearing words, the feeble and bruised ones. Hence it was that he was beloved of the Father; that the Father was well pleased in him, and poured his Spirit upon him without measure. Dear readers: it is this beloved Pattern who invites us to learn of him, and take his yoke upon us. Shall we do it? I think I hear you say, I will try. This is what I am endeavoring to do, and I find the promise of Christ verified to me. The yoke is easy, because I have help in bearing it, and I find rest to my soul. But I am not satisfied. I want more help and more rest in Jesus. This is our privilege. Without it, we are lean and powerless, the yoke is irksome, it is hard doing duty and serving the Lord; for we are left to ourselves, and our strength is weakness, and our wisdom is folly. Again I ask, Shall we learn of Christ, who was meek and lowly of heart? Let us try.