Feb 18: Unpretentious & Beyond

John 12:26  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Today, let us think about the path that Jesus took while He was in this world. Right from His birth through to His childhood to His adult life and finally the way He died. It was as if when God was planning out His Son’s time on earth, He intentionally chose the most modest of settings, whether it was the birth place (a manger), or the town Jesus would grow up in (Nazareth), or the people He would hang out with (a people under Roman oppression), or the way He would die (on a cross). All of these settings (except the cross) had one thing in common – unpretentious.

Unpretentious. It’s a great word to dwell on. So here’s some definitions[1]:

·      as in unaffected – free from any intent to impress others

·      as in quiet – not excessively showy

·      as in humble – not showing any feelings of superiority

If Jesus our Master chose a path of humility in everything He did, how much more we as His followers. The apostles and disciples of the early churches followed this example set before them. They chose to live simple lives while walking through the path that was set before them faithfully.

Finally, Jesus sacrificed His life so that all those around Him and after Him might be saved. He said “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”[2] Jesus’ death on the cross was way beyond unpretentiousness. It was un-fair, un-justified, un-fathomable. Yet it was the path that Father God had chosen for His Son to go through. And although difficult, Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will for Him.

If God has called you to serve Him, then you too must also be willing to walk through a path of humility and self-sacrifice. The path has already been set for you. It won’t be fancy and popular in the standards of this world. It will be unpretentious and beyond. But remember, your Father in heaven sees everything. And there will come a day when you will be honored. That honor will be unlike anything you get from the people of the word. It will be something that will last for eternity.

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpretentious

[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 12:24–25.