Name any virtue dear to you, and there’s one grace behind it.
Even the Bible’s best-known virtues— “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23)—grow from one even more remarkable quality: humility.
Love means putting others before ourselves; joy is joining in another’s glee. Peace emerges when we quiet the clamoring of ego; kindness acts to bless another. Faithfulness means being loyal to someone other than ourselves. Gentleness and self-control are how we act when we respect the dignity of others.
This undergirding grace of humility is best seen in Jesus Himself, who acted toward us as only true virtue could: “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-7).
Only magnificent humility would offer saving grace to undeserving folks like us. As we learn Christ’s humility, we grow in grace—and virtues. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18).
Learn whose you are.
And stay in grace. -Bill Knott
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Keep On Singing (December 18, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Saving Our Stories (December 11, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Grace On The Ground (December 4, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Full Of Grace And Truth (November 27, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Choice To Love (November 20, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Great Unlearning (November 13, 2020)
Journeys With Jesus: The Empty Vase
Searching The Obvious: Keep Walking
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Beyond The Galaxy (November 6, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Best Kind Of Graffiti (October 30, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Gift That Keeps On Giving (October 23, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Winning Together (October 16, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Gripped By Guilt (October 9, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Beyond Debate (October 2, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Best Selfie Of All (September 25, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The Road Much Traveled (September 18, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Re-telling Grace (September 11, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Grace Kneels (September 4, 2020)
Searching The Obvious - From Choice to Plan
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Beyond Regret (August 28, 2020)
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