Salvation: A Journey of Humility and Self-awareness

Humility is self-awareness,awareness of our fallibility, awareness of our human proclivities and our need for salvation.And salvation embodies a profound understanding of the human condition and our inherent struggles. It acknowledges that as humans, we often find ourselves trapped in patterns of self-destructive behaviour, misguided desires, and harmful tendencies. Whether it be our tendency toward selfishness, pride, greed, and the likes.

Recognising the need for salvation begins with humility, a humble acknowledgment that we are not perfect beings and that we are susceptible to making mistakes. It is through this humility that we become aware of the limitations of our own efforts and the realisation that we cannot overcome these challenges alone. Hence, the need to turn to a higher power, acknowledging that there is a greater source of wisdom, strength, and love beyond ourselves. God possesses the ability to truly save and transform us.

It is not enough to simply acknowledge our need for salvation; we must also actively respond to it. This response involves obedience to the teachings and commandments of God.

You see, when we obey, we surrender our wills to the authority to whom we obey, we recognise our place before this authority and very importantly we recognise the authority’s ability to provide righteous guidance. Whether we yield to our own selves by being our own supreme authority or whether we yield to our God, is a choice that we have to make every day of our lives. The fascinating thing is this, obeying God is to our own advantage. Because it helps our course to win the battle of life, it sets us up to be able to live peaceably with all men, it eradicates envy from our lives, it breeds joy, peace, understanding, empathy and all other virtues. 

To obey God, we must follow his guiding principles and procedures or should I say standard operating procedure. And that can be found in the bible, which provides a guide to life, a guide for character reformation and character building, a guide to social interaction and family life.

The perfect case for one who obeyed God and the consequences of that obedience is Jesus Christ. We see in Jesus Christ one who surrendered his will and obeyed God to the point of death. One might think that because he died in this context, that that is a negative consequence of obedience. But it is not; you see, all humans will die, but how we die matters, what we do before we die matters. Death on the cross for Jesus was the will of God for him, it was difficult, grueling, shameful, it was extremely painful to go through that, but it was already written and agreed for that to happen in order to bring about a once and for all sacrifice for sins and a path to salvation for mankind. See what the bible says about Jesus’ humility and obedience:

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:8 – 11

As a consequence of his obedience, Jesus Christ inherited a name that is above every name, a name that all powers in heaven and on earth are subject to; he was crowned with glory; therefore serving as an example unto us today. Oh that we may be humble ourselves so that we can truly yield our hearts to God being aware of our frailty and fallibility, that God may use us to the glory of his name. Because, the process of salvation is a journey of self-awareness, humility, surrender, and obedience. It is a recognition that we cannot save ourselves solely through our own efforts, but rather through a partnership with a higher power. By embracing this partnership and allowing the divine influence to guide us, we can transcend our inherent human tendencies and live a life that reflects the qualities of goodness, righteousness, and love.

What does it mean to fear God?

“O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.” Psalm 34:9

So what does it mean to fear God? Does it mean we should be scared of him?

The verb form of the word fear means to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or harmful.

This therefore begs our question. Is God therefore one to be afraid of? Is he likely to be dangerous, painful or harmful? To attempt to answer these questions, we will perhaps need to look at some of the biblical passages that speaks of the fear of God. Because it is actually not entirely seen in the light of the dictionary definition of fear above.

Have a read through a selection of verse that entertains promises to those who fear God.

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

Malachi 4:2

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Proverbs 14:26-27

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:11

Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.

Psalm 25:12

The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord. Are riches, honor and life.

Proverbs 22:4

The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Proverbs 19:23

So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.

Deutronomy 6:24

These passages really show a lot of positives about the fear of God. It sure does talk about very many benefits that come because of fearing God but perhaps does not markedly point out what this fear is. So, let’s look at a few more passages that also speak of the fear of God, perhaps we will find some definite answer to that.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

Perhaps the most interesting verse that tries to give a definition to that phrase is this one:

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding — indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5

To understand the fear of God, one must call out for insight and search for understanding as though it were silver or a hidden treasure.

Also, we can see in Proverbs 8:13 that he fear of the Lord is to hate evil.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have a good understanding – Psalms 111:10.

Tweet

Thus, we can say that hating evil is the beginning of wisdom.

But what does it mean to hate evil? The degree to which evil is hated is to be seen in the light of the search for hidden treasure; doing so with every fibre of one’s being. It is to abhor evil and to denounce and condemn every form of evil.

Tweet

The true definition of evil is as God’s precepts demands. That is to say that when God says something is bad or is evil, we believe that and also say that it is evil and denounce such. God really does have the final definition of what constitutes evil. Our duty is to search for those precepts and definitions of evil as though there were hidden treasures or silver and do as God will do, hate it. Conversely, we can say that it is one who seeks out the will of God and does them that is truly wise and has the fear of God because to do his will amounts to hating evil and thus showing that one fears God.

Another angle to look at will be to also realise that the fear of God can also assume the literal meaning and definition of the word fear itself. The apostle Paul instructed the Phillippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:13). This presupposes that the fear of the Lord can literally mean being scared of the consequences of not hating evil, or disobeying his instructions to the detriment of our souls. God had freely given us his son so that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. This is one side of the coin and the other side is the refusal to believe and obey that leads to eternal damnation. And this is something to tremble about.

God’s very presence and being is trembling. We notice how the Israelites could not stand the voice of God when he thundered above them. So, God’s very being is so marvelous and great to arouse fear in the heart of those who do not believe and even the believers. What a terrible thing can it be to be at loggerheads with the creator of the universe; it is truly a terrible state to imagine.

Therefore, living in the fear of the Lord is to hate evil and do good; it is to recognize God’s awesome power to safe and also discipline and correct. It is in recognition of this, that we all need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Sensitivity: a solution to the problems of the world

Permit me to make a bold statement here, to say that the solution to most if not all the problems in the world is sensitivity.

Remember that in the last post we defined insensitivity as the failure to prioritise the needs around us. In like manner, sensitivity would be the opposite – that is, the ability to prioritise the needs around us.

Being sensitive to the needs around us presupposes that those needs are then acted upon prioritisation.

Consider the three disciples with Jesus in Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion, if they were sensitive to the sorrow that Jesus felt, they would have perhaps done a couple of things differently.

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” – Matt 26:37-38

The three disciples had the need to sleep, which is natural. But when the needs of those around us trump our own needs, it is only important that we lend a helping hand. That is why Jesus rebuked his disciples for not being able to watch and pray with him for a few hours.

It does not mean that we will not have needs of our own. Human needs they say, are insatiable. The need for the necessities of life as well as other needs. When you are a kid, all you want to do is grow up and do what the adults you see around you are doing. When you are single, you want to get married, when you are married you want to have kids, when you have kids, you want them to grow quickly. The list goes on and on. The bottom line is, there will never be a time in life when there is no need.

But what should we do? Two things:

1. Recognise

The three disciples should have recognised that Jesus was troubled, and he clearly told them. They should have showed concern and prayed with him as he requested. You see, sometimes people may be able to tell us their needs and challenges; sometimes all they want is a listening ear, someone to pray with or someone to pray for them through their difficult moment. Sometimes they may need more than that, they may need our resources, time and finance. Sometimes, we might even need to look a bit closer to recognise and identify that there are needs. Whatever the needs may be, it will require sacrifice on our part to meet them and that is why it can be a challenge. It may require you to forego your own need to help someone with theirs. The three disciples needed to forego sleep in order to pray with and for Jesus in his moment of need. Come to think of it, that was about the only time Jesus was ever troubled to the point where he requested their support. But they failed and we may have also failed the needy ones around us in different ways too. Such thought of failing someone in their moment of need can be disturbing but thank God for forgiveness through Christ.

2. Prioritise and Act

When we recognise the needs around us, we can then appropriately prioritise it and act accordingly. Sometimes, we may not be able to forego our own needs to help others, but we may be able to signpost them to where they can get help. Sometimes we may not be able to offer the kind of help people need but we can offer to find out how they can get help. But whatever the situation, we can always pray for the people in need.

Praying for the people in need especially those to whom we cannot immediately or even remotely assist is important. Consider this is what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour.              1 Tim 2:1-3

Therefore, to be sensitive to the needs around us, we ought to, first of all, pray for everyone especially those that are in need. This is what pleases God. And what this does for us is the ability to live peaceful and quiet lives – you see the passage talks about praying for those in government. Oh, if everyone prayed for the people in our governments as much as they criticised, we will have better governments everywhere.

Recognising the needs around us and praying first of all about them brings about a better society through which we can lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Does it sound simple or rather difficult to do this? Well, it is simple and here is why and how we may go about it. Every time, we find something wrong in the world, we can utter quiet prayers. We can even cultivate a habit of praying for the needs of others at least once a day. If every Christian walking the planet were to do that, how much of a difference that will make will be so amazing. When we recognise everyone’s need for a saviour and the consequences of living a life without one. This will encourage us to act and show more people the path to salvation.

So, when next you pray, remember the ones who need your help, the homeless, the poor, the ones in prison, the orphans, the sick ones, for everyone in the ‘need spectrum’ including those in positions of authority and those who need Jesus in their lives.

So let’s stop and pray:

Dear God, we thank you for always giving attention to our prayers and needs, right now we are praying for the needy ones in our societies for we know that this is pleasing to you. Our request is that you meet everyone at the point of their needs and help us to assist the ones you bring our way in meaningful ways. Thank you for helping us to be sensitive to the needs around us through Christ. Amen.