No Position Too Lowly to Be Honorable in Christ, August 13

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Mark 6:3. Christ's life of humiliation should be a lesson to all who desire to exalt themselves above others. Though He had no taint of sin upon His character, yet He condescended to connect our fallen human nature with His divinity.... In humility Christ began His mighty work of lifting the fallen race from the degradation of sin, recovering them by His divine power, which He had linked with humanity. Passing by the grand cities and the renowned places of learning and supposed wisdom, He made His home in the humble and obscure village of Nazareth. The greater part of His life was passed in this place, from which it was commonly believed that no good could come. In the path that the poor, the neglected, the suffering, and the sorrowing must tread, He walked while on earth, taking upon Him all the woes that the afflicted must bear.... His family was not distinguished by learning, riches, or position. For many years He worked at His trade as a carpenter. The Jews had proudly boasted that Christ was to come as a king, to conquer His enemies and tread down the heathen in His wrath. But the humble, submissive life our Saviour led, which should have enshrined Him in the hearts of the people and given them confidence in His mission, offended and disappointed the Jews, and we all know of the treatment He received from them.... Christ did not exalt people by ministering to their pride. He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Unless human pride is humbled and subdued, unless the stubborn heart is made tender by the Spirit of Christ, it is not possible for Him to impress His divine similitude upon us. He, the humble Nazarene, might have poured contempt upon the world's pride, for He was commander in the heavenly courts. But He came to our world in humility, in order to show that it is not riches or position or authority or honorable titles that the universe of heaven respects and honors, but those who will follow Christ, making any position of duty honorable by the virtue of their character through the power of His grace. No human being is warranted to uplift self in pride. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”—Letter 81, 1896.