Step Up and Step Back
Ever run into a young adult who humbles you at the same time they impress you? My friend’s daughter is tiny like me (I may actually have a quarter inch on her in height), but she has a goliath faith. She has been neck and neck in the running for salutatorian at a large public school.
Her competitor holed up and studied 24/7, but my friend’s daughter wanted to do her best while still enjoying what remained of her senior year. I asked whether she would be disappointed if she couldn’t give the salutatorian address to her class, and this mature high school senior said she’d accept whatever God’s will was. If she gets to give the salutatorian speech, she plans to use the time to share with her public-school classmates about God and her faith. And if she doesn’t, then she figures God knows her poor competitor, who is losing sleep over achieving a higher ranking, must need it more than she does.
My friend’s daughter stepped up with integrity, finishing the semester strong, but also stepped back, accepting God’s will to put someone else’s needs above her own.
“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor…” –George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation
Our founding father and leader of the Continental Army, George Washington, stepped up with integrity while humbly staying put. The conditions at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777 and 1778 were harsh. Over 2,500 soldiers died of starvation, exposure, dysentery, and other diseases. As a general, Washington had the option of quartering elsewhere, but he stayed with his troops and endured the harsh conditions alongside them
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Frenchman, Marquis de Lafayette, became a major general of the Continental Army at the age of nineteen under Washington. Despite homesickness, harsh conditions, and his young wife's pleas to return to France, he helped boost the army’s morale by using his own resources to supply his men with uniforms and muskets. He stepped up to support a cause he believed in, even though, as a volunteer foreign officer, he wasn’t even eligible for a commission.
Jesus, being the son of God, could have come to earth, displaying His power and glory and rightfully taken His throne, but instead He chose a humble birth, humble living, and a humble death on the cross. Instead of demanding our allegiance and worship, He washed His disciples’ feet. Instead of smiting sinners, He encouraged repentance and forgave us our sins. He chose to step up on the cross to save us, but also stepped back, allowing us the free will to choose Him.
That is the amazing grace of our God. And Lord, let us be more like Him.
