How to Be Lifted Up by God

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

The more that I contemplate the Bible’s use of the description of God being our Father in Heaven, the more significant that it becomes to me.  Our passage today and others like it certainly become more meaningful as we view it through the lens of the theme of God being a loving Father.

Think for a moment about our relationship with our own kids.  If we catch one of our children in a lie, for instance, and confront them with it, they have one of two choices:

1.  They can act Prideful:  This choice would be marked by continued denial that they ever lied and would continue to lie to “stay out of trouble”.  They would act belligerent  and angry at the very thought of being accused of such a thing.  They might even try to cast doubt on the parenting skills by saying something like:  Why would you think that I would lie to you...?  If our child takes this tact, and we KNOW that they are guilty, what is our response to them?  We would have no choice but to Punish them most likely.  What we would not do is to give them a hug and say we were sorry.  Their lack of responsibility or repentance of their sin would cause a split in the relationship, albeit temporary.

2.  They can be Humble!  In this scenario, they would acknowledge their wrong doing and melt under the guilt of disappointing their parents.  They would feel the shame that comes with doing wrong.  Depending on the nature of the circumstances, the child may begin crying at this point.  What would be our response now?  We would rush over, pick them up and tell them how much we love them.

This real to life scenario, gives us insight to our relationship with our spiritual Father.  We too have two choices as we deal with our Father.  We can act prideful and pretend that we didn’t do anything.  We can play it off as if God is too demanding.  We can be defensive as if sin is not that big of a deal.  We can make all kinds of excuses about our behavior, but in the end the our sin separates us from God.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 

We also have the choice to be humble.  Our humility would cause us to take responsibility for our shortcomings and cause us to want to learn from our mistakes and determine not to do them again.  Humility causes us to understand that our sin has hurt our Father in heaven.  We would also then, be open to following the Great Physician’s prescription for removing our sin.  When we do, God, like a loving Father will not push away, he will lift us up and show us that he loves us.  We will conclude today looking at the best picture of this characteristic is the parable the Prodigal Son.  As we do, notice the humility that the son displays and the overwhelming reaction of this loving Father.

Luke 15:18-24 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, (19) And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (20) And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. (22) But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (23) And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: (24) For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.