Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have
revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
— Matthew 11:25-26 (NRSV)
Life is the great equaliser.
Whenever we get too far ahead of ourselves,
We seem to be pulled up by life,
Whether by humorous embarrassment
Or by a shame that cuts like a knife.
Perhaps the grand truth is this:
we never advance so much past our contemporaries that we can see ourselves as
superior to them. The so-called wise, the learned, the intelligent, are all
graced by situational blessing.
It’s no guarantee for blessing
beyond the present moment in their specialist field.
Instead, those who would normally
be considered disadvantaged are given access to the love and knowledge of God
in ways that are spiritually proud are not.
The Father’s Gracious Design
Despite what we might think, the
Father favours not one person over another. This is qualified by the fact that,
over a significant time period, certainly over a lifetime, lives are levelled
and equalled.
The disciplined are blessed. The
diligent are granted progress. The prudent move slowly and surely forward. But
the lazy are found out. The arrogant turn people off and God, too. The person
who has a superiority complex is coming quickly to their end.
God is reversing the trend of
human will; those taking in life have life taken from them; those who give in
life are given life.
The Father is fair. The Father
levels the playing field. The Father’s wisdom is gracious. It is the provision
of his will.
God takes the person who is
insignificant in the world’s eyes and elevates them, much as the tortoise beats
the hare. This is good news to anyone who would be tempted otherwise to envy.
Instead of envy, the truly wise
wait on the Lord. They understand that those who are presently blessed are only
as blessed at their literal yesterday.
The Graciousness of the Hidden and
Revealed Will of the Father
The truly poor of spirit are
blessed by the revelation of God’s will for their situations and lives. But
those who have a cocky sense of self-sufficient spirit will soon fall, because
the will of God is hidden from them. They refuse to search for and see it.
Life is all about guidance. Where
we are guided by God’s Spirit, where we see the flow of divine grace, we have
an incredible advantage. This is one of the reasons we are blessed to be
humble. The world, let alone God, admires the humble, but pride generally disgusts
the world. The world’s heroes are humble.
***
The Father’s gracious will favours
the patient and humble person, not getting ahead of themselves. God’s will is
revealed to the patiently humble person, but it is hidden from those who are
spiritually proud.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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