Good evening, Zane
It’s been a full day. Since Thano is moving to New York, leaving Tuesday night, some of our attention after church was taken up with running around to help him wrap up some of his pre-departure details—even buying cardboard boxes to pack his stuff in.
I face another round of cataract surgery on Wednesday—my right eye this time. That surgery is requiring me to have a COVID test again. So I reluctantly had that done today too.
Hope things are cooking OK. Blessings. Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.
Pay close attention here to the distinction between what a person can do to himself, and what he can’t do to himself. Jesus points out that he can EXALT himself—or he can HUMBLE himself—but he cannot determine or control the long-range outcome of those choices. My simple application puts it this way: If my main objective in life is all wrapped up in me, my, and mine—to accumulate a bunch of stuff and/or establish a high image for myself, I may get some favorable results for awhile, but the ultimate price tag plays out to be the exact opposite of what I’m really wanting. If, however, my main objective is to worship and please my Creator, recognizing that this is the very purpose of my existence, then I will choose to humbly and earnestly seek Him at every point. Jesus promises that this orientation will cause me to ultimately win benefits far beyond my wildest dreams and imaginations—like, heaven, like, eternal life, like who could ever achieve that on their own?!
Have you observed that it is a self-defeating impossibility to truly worship God with a big head?—with an arrogant attitude that says, “O Lord, you sure are lucky to have me in Your kingdom!”…or, “Lord, let me tell you how you ought to run things.” Oh phooey! Get it straight, you little flea. Within the Kingdom of God, exaltation (like happiness) is never achieved by seeking it. Therefore heaven is NOT a goal to be pursued—because that will contaminate the whole equation with more of ME—my comfort, my pleasure, my future, etc. Rather heaven is simply a wonderful byproduct of A HEART AFTER GOD—loving Him, serving Him, and personally seeking first His kingdom rule. “For thine (not mine) is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever” (Matthew 6:13). I hope you can say a resounding, “Amen!”