There’s an old country song that begins, “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” While most of us don’t consider ourselves perfect, we do struggle on occasion with an ego that pushes us to think more highly of ourselves and our opinions than we should. God has always found appropriate voices to remind me of my own limitations. Shortly after I went to Central Baptist Church in Paris, Kentucky as pastor, I was invited to attend a Women’s Missionary Union meeting at another local church. As I arrived, one of our senior adult women met me at the door and began introducing me to the women from the other churches. Proud of her new pastor, she told one woman, “This is our new, little pastor.” These were terms of endearment from a seasoned member, speaking of her young pastor (30 yrs. old). An elderly woman in the crowd, not so quietly, turned to a friend and said, “He may be new, but he ain’t little!”
In our text today, the crowd marvels at the miracle meal they have just enjoyed. Borrowing a lunch meant to feed only one, Jesus feeds thousands. The crowd is ready to make him their king, and why not? They have seen him heal, heard his powerful words, and now been miraculously fed by him. Jesus, however, had a different perspective. John tells us in verse 15 of our text, “Jesus knew that the people planned to come and take him by force and make him their king, so he left and went into the hills alone.” Jesus wisely exited a moment of temptation where the voices and passions of the crowd could have tempted him to become something he was not meant to be. Satan had tempted him in the wilderness to give in to such passions. There was little difference in the voices of this crowd.
The apostle Paul gives us a powerful perspective on the mind of Christ in Philippians 2. Take a moment, at some point today, and read Paul’s words, then remember the grace of God that reaches out to you... not perfect in every way, but forgiven and embraced by the mercy of God.
Jim Abernathy
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