Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Nicole Benevenia

Humility

Few things can kill the life of faith in the way that pride can. Few things can stall movement toward justice in the way that setting our own agenda for God’s work in the world can. And God knows: the problems in our world today cannot be solved through pride, certainty, and assuming our own timelines.

In her memoir Untamed, Glennon Doyle reflects, “the word humility derives from the Latin word humilitas, which means ‘of the earth.’ To be humble is to be grounded in knowing who you are. It implies the responsibility to become what you were meant to become — to grow, to reach, to fully bloom as high and strong and grand as you were created to.”

Humility - for a person of faith - is knowing exactly who you are, what you are capable of, and where you fall short. It also means knowing that your deepest identity lies in the Christ that you are waiting for. In America, in November 2020, maybe humility is the most radical and disturbing challenge in the Gospel.

How are we going to live while we’re waiting? Who will we become in the meantime while we wait for God? Will we become frozen in certainty, stubbornness, and our own plans? Or will we live into another posture: humility and open hands with others who wait with their own burning lamps.

We are waiting and watching for God here, in these lives and in this fragmented world. My hope for you and for me is that we will be our whole full, beautiful, and humble selves when God shows up and opens the door to joy.