Half a year is now fading away, and many around the world are slowly emerging from quarantines and stay-at-home orders to find societies in upheaval, both because of the pandemic and now because of protests against racial injustice. 2020, if no other year before it has done it for us, has taught us what could boil down to: the world is full of grief and the human experience is a painful one — especially for those in the margins and whose cries for justice and salvation go unheard.
But God hears them. And we tune our ears to listen, too — and then join their cry.
As has been the case with every issue of The Cry I’ve been a part of, the lifestyle celebration at hand couldn’t be more timely — and I am assured Divine Providence plays a role. I am moved by Word Made Flesh’s celebration of Humility. At Word Made Flesh, our folks around the world have the privilege of doing work in contexts and among people that bear the term ‘humble.’ In our modern, western context, humility is often equated with weakness or fragility, and such labels are far from what the world tells us to pursue. We are to be strong, self-sufficient, and ever capable.
Yet, as we seek to serve Jesus in various contexts, understanding the character of Jesus as one who humbly poured Himself out and thought of us as more important than Himself and His own Deity, we are reminded that humility is a mark that accompanies those who bear the image of Christ. He who came to earth through lowly means, among lowly people, on a manger, spent His time with
fishermen, advocated for women, and rode as King into town on a donkey. He who touched the untouchable and spoke resurrection to dying hearts. Though humility marked His life on earth, He displayed humility’s ultimate act in Hi
s death, willingly suffering injustice out of a great love for us and in order to atone for all injustice, setting humanity free from oppression. Jesus took His last breath so that we could live freely and receive the promise of eternal life.
Indeed, humility is not weak, helpless, or precarious; humility is strong and victorious. It was humility that made true life possible for us, and it is the same humility that continues to make true life possible for those around us. It’s a life force. It’s recognizing that we need Jesus, and that receiving Him also means we join Him in pouring out and raising up others above ourselves. As our WMF staff serve alongside people in many contexts throughout many nations, we thank God for this gift, this posture of humility, and we pray that we would continue to grow in His likeness. We celebrate our need for Christ and our need for one another.
I leave you with this exhortation:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
May we continue to walk with Him humbly wherever He goes, and may you see and be touched by His humility reflected in these pages of The Cry.
JORGE CASTORENA
Editor of The Cry
jorge.castorena@wordmadeflesh.com
