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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
16 • MODESTY IN ALL THINGS
John,
one of the sons of thunder, was another who had to learn that
his aggressive arrogance and ambition had to yield to the
divine modesty which was so characteristic of Jesus. With
James, John sought the highest place at the side of Jesus
in his Kingdom, quite regardless of the claims of the others
who also served the Master. And when the Samaritans would
not receive Jesus, James and John said, "Lord, wilt thou
that we bid fire to come down from heaven, and consume them.
Yet it was John who, having absorbed the spirit of Jesus,
wrote: "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is
of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."
Thus John learned to think more of God and of others than
himself. He had discovered that the children of God, like
their Father, must be kind "unto the unthankful and to
the evil".
Humility of Outlook
This divine love, which is the heart of a knowledge and purpose
greater than any in the world ought gradually to change our
attitude towards life and people. If it does not succeed in
doing this we need to do some very critical self-examination!
One with the divine outlook is compassionate: he shows love
to the sinner whilst hating the sin; he is tolerant towards
the strivings of others whilst rejecting their creeds; he
will help to comfort and if possible supply the needs of others
even though he may be distressed by their ignorance of their
Maker. And his outlook is such because he, too, was once a
"stranger from the covenants of promise, having no hope
and without God in the world".
Because we are grateful for the divine helping hand we should
be all the more humble that we have been offered the opportunity
of manifesting the compassionate love of God and certainly
should not be guilty of a self-righteous superiority over
others.
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References
Mark 10v27, Luke 9v54, 1 John 4v7-8,
Luke 6v35, Eph 2v12
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Chapter
16 • MODESTY IN ALL THINGS
With the examples of Jesus and the Apostles to help him Paul realized
that a radical change of outlook was necessary if the saints were
to be faithful children of God and what he wrote to the ecclesia
at Rome is as relevant today as it was then: "Adapt yourselves
no longer to the pattern of this present world, but let your minds
be remade and your whole nature thus transformed. Then you will
be able to discover the will of God, and to know what is good, acceptable
and perfect."
This is the only kind of nature that will help us to put into proper
perspective our spiritual role in the world and enable us compassionately
to view the weaknesses and follies of men so that we are the better
able to help them when they need it.
Modesty
in Dress
Those who have compassionate hearts need not be dow-dily dressed.
The young, and sometimes those who are older, like to be "with
it" as they say. They like to feel that they are in the stream
of fashion, whether it be in dress, hair style, or general appearance.
To some extent this is understandable, if not always commendable.
Fashion does exercise some control over people's habits of dress
and general style. Jesus and the twelve would have worn the style
of dress and hair that was proper to their time and race; as would
Mary and Martha. In each age there is general consent as to what
is decorous and proper; but it is obvious that a people who have
been "bought with a price", and who are "a temple
of God" are not as free to defy the conventions of their spiritual
"race" as are people in the world.
To be "with it" in the time of Jesus would have been to
wear the short style of hair as the Romans, and as today, there
were always some who would defy normal convention; but we could
hardly have imagined Jesus, the Apostles, or Mary and Martha, imitating
the more extreme fashions. To them to be "with it" was
to be "with God". Yet can one imagine Jesus being slovenly
in dress?
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References
Rom 12v2 NEB
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