An incredible event was witnessed by a hunter on the shear rock face of a mountain in Alaska. My friend was glassing the mountain ridges for a trophy sheep when he saw something remarkable. There was one narrow ledge that was scored into the rock wall that extended across the face of the cliff. Two very mature rams stood on opposite sides of the cliff. Their horns were chipped and broomed from the years of butting heads with other rams. These champions were out of one another’s line of sight, so they had no idea that the other was approaching from the other side. The hunter watched as the two prize rams inched toward one another. Somewhere near the middle of the rock face trail they saw each other for the first time. They stopped and just stared at each other.
Rams are well known for their agility and they possess the ability to go up or down gracefully any rock face. However, this trail was different. There was no possible way to go up or down from the trail they were both stalled on. For some time the hunter watched these two animals stare at each other, not moving a muscle. To the hunter, the solution to this dilemma was simple…each one should slowly back up to where he originated and find another path to his destination. However, much to the surprise of the man staring through the binoculars, he watched both rams begin inching towards each other on that string thin rock trail. As they neared each other one ram made the determination to do what was contrary to his nature. Instead of once again fighting for his place on the narrow path which would have likely sent one or both animals to their death below, the mature ram laid his body down on that narrow ledge and after a pause, the other equally mature ram stepped on his sacrificial body to cross to the other side of the ledge and continue on his journey.
Maturity is marked by humility.
The city of Anchorage desperately needs humility to be modeled by the Christian community. There are innumerable needs screaming for attention in our city. Those needs could and would be met if believers could get their lives wrapped around a single word: humility.
We Alaskans are well known for our pioneer independent spirit. We take great pride in that. We make statements such as “we don’t care how it is done in the lower forty-eight.” Our independent, self-reliant attitude is often the exact opposite of humility. The Christian is called to not live life according to the attitude of the world but rather to be a transformed follower of Christ whose life radiated humility, to the point of death on a cross for the errors of all mankind.
We often pray for God’s nearness personally as well as for his visitation on our city, but we prohibit that from happening because we possess attitudes laced with ministry pride. Scripture clearly states that God resists the proud. That means that he stands opposed to the those with a prideful attitude.
We need true Christian unity in our city and state in order for us to become all that God has purposed. Real humility would be seen if every leader and saint were to lie down on the ledge to let another pass over his back to reach his destination. The church that Jesus prayed for in Jn.17 is a church that takes the option of not butting horns or wrangling about issues that have no eternal relevance. Agendas, goals, rights, and the desire for ‘credit’ for accomplishments must be laid down in order for the Kingdom to advance. The kind of humility Jesus is looking for doesn’t have our names on it!
There can be no unity without humility.
There is only one church in the city of Anchorage with many meeting places. We cannot obtain unity among the Christian community without humility! May we live as mature men and women who like Jesus are willing to lay down our life for another.
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