HUMILITY

“The most heavily laden branches always bow the lowest on the tree.”
(an old saying among orchardists,
according to Phillip Keller in A Gardener Looks at the Fruit of the Spirit)

Our society today is one of independence, self-assertion, and competition.
Greatness and success are determined by acquired degrees and accumulated of medals.
Not so, in the upside-down kingdom of God.
There it is based on servanthood.
And Jesus is our model.

Humility is positioning myself in right relationship with God and others.
It is acknowledging God as the good, gracious, and generous Giver
and agreeing that I am, as others, the grateful recipient of His benevolence.
Therefore, I walk “on the level” with my fellowmen,
seeking to relate in ways that are gentle, considerate, and encouraging.

Humility is the quality that reaches into the hearts of others
because it accepts them as they are but invites them, by example, to consider
an alternate way of relating
(than the one touted as necessary for success by our society),
the way of Jesus.

It was Jesus who willingly sacrificed His heavenly state
to dwell among us in a physical body
and teach us how to serve our fellowmen.

Prayer:

God, keep me mindful of who I am in relation to You,
aware of my humanity, my sins and shortcomings.
Keep showing me where I need to grow
so that I can more graciously relate to those
whose lives intersect with mine today.
Amen.

Twila Charles Leichty
August 9, 2010

(suggested read: “Head Into The Wind” from Come Away My Beloved by Frances J. Roberts)


* * *


TEMPERANCE

Not my will, but Thine be done. Luke 22:42
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30

As my will, desires, thoughts, actions, reactions, and rights are relinquished
and God is given the right to govern all
that is within the domain of “self,”
I take on more and more of the character of God.
When my attitudes and choices are tempered,
directed and controlled by His purposes for me
rather than by my selfish wants,
the transforming work of God becomes visible to those around.

~ Prayer ~

God, I want you to be the Gardener of my life.
Cultivate the ground,
uproot and rid the soil of all that grows from self-control,
and plant only those qualities that will make the garden of my life
a testimony of Your presence and work,
a demonstration of Your character!
Amen.

Twila Charles Leichty
August 8, 2010