Humility Keeps Faithful Vibrant

In his classic work “The Imitation of Christ,” Thomas A. Kempis wrote, “It is good that we at times endure opposition and that we are evilly and unruly judged when our action and intentions are good. Often such experiences promote humility and protect us from vain glory. For then we seek God’s witness in the heart.”

Could I encourage you today that when you face opposition, let it sharpen you. Allow it to build into your life focus and perspective. Permit the yieldedness to the Holy Spirit and a deep love for God to control your reactions. This will remove many petty distractions and will make you a different person with a fresh appreciation of life.

John Hull tells the story of being in Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon in 1982. The stadium was packed with over 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin fans watching their team play the Michigan State Spartans.

Michigan State had a better team and was beating the Badgers. What was strange, however, was that as the score became more and more in favor of MSU, there were bursts of applause and cheers from the Wisconsin fans. How could they cheer when their team was losing?

Seventy miles away, the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the 1982 World Series. Many of the fans at the football game were listening to the World Series on their radios and were responding to the baseball game rather than the defeat of their football team.

Let me remind all of us. Our perspective on life does not come from the ups and downs here on earth. The Bible reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

When we have this perspective, we truly will rejoice in the face of opposition. Maybe Jesus will return today. While living in this world, look upward to our eternal home in heaven.