Humble Honor 谦卑的尊荣
Dexu Xia
All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Luke 14:11
Today's Scripture Luke 14:7-11
Today's Insights Jesus’ countercultural approach to honor in Luke 14:7-11 wasn’t a new concept for His audience. They were familiar with David, who as the youngest of his brothers became king over Israel. Before him was Gideon, whose family was poor and his tribe’s weakest clan. Yet Gideon liberated Israel from their oppressors. And before him was Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, who became the savior of his family in Egypt—a family that was, itself, the youngest nation in a world already populated by many others (Deuteronomy 7:1). Yet this chosen nation was honored to be a light to the rest of the world (4:5-8).
In Luke, Christ reminded His listeners of a principle woven throughout Scripture—God promotes the last, least, and unlikely to showcase His glory and goodness. It’s the nature of God’s upside-down kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). And it’s at the very heart of the gospel (Matthew 20:28).
Today's Devotional As an elementary school teacher, my friend often escorted her students to various other classrooms for subjects such as music or art. When asked to line up to make their way to another room, the fifth-grade students would jockey for position, some scrambling for the coveted spot at the head of the line. One day, Jenni surprised them by having everyone turn around and leading them from what had been—just seconds before—the end of the line. Their shock was audible: “Whaatt?”
When Jesus observed similar jockeying for position at a dinner table, He responded by telling a parable that undoubtedly surprised His fellow guests. Using a story about a wedding feast, He instructed them to “not take the place of honor” but instead “take the lowest place” (Luke 14:8-10). Christ confounded their social norms by saying that “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (v. 11).
This kingdom principle can be a difficult one to adopt, especially because our human temptation will be to still focus on “winning” somehow—choosing the last position now so we'll be first later. But Jesus urges us to follow His example and look to Him for help in reorienting our thinking to see being humble, last, and lowly as truly being in the place of honor.
Reflect & Pray Who in your life embodies the kind of humility Jesus calls us to? When do you struggle to surrender your own place of honor?
Please help me, Jesus, to show humility in all circumstances.by Kirsten Holmberg
“凡自高的，必降为卑；自卑的，必升为高。”(路加福音 14:11 )
今日经文：路加福音 14:7-11
今日心得：在路加福音 14章7-11节中耶稣对尊荣看法与世俗文化相背，这对祂的听众来说并非新鲜事。他们熟悉大卫，作为最小的兄弟，却成为以色列的王。在大卫之前是基甸，他的家庭贫穷，是支派中最弱小的家族。然而，基甸将以色列从压迫者手中解放出来。在基甸之前是约瑟，雅各第十一个儿子，他成为家族在埃及的拯救者，而这个家族本身，是当时已有许多民族居住的世界中最年轻的民族（申命记 7:1）。然而，这个被拣选的民族却被尊荣，成为世界其他地区的光（4:5-8）。在路加福音中，基督提醒祂的听众一个贯穿圣经的原则，神提拔处于末位、最小最不可能的人来彰显祂荣耀和美善。这是神翻转的国度的本质（哥林多前书 1:26-29），也是福音的核心（马太福音 20:28）。
今日灵修 我的朋友是一名小学老师，她经常带她的学生去其他教室上音乐或美术等课。当五年级的学生被要求排队去另一个教室时，他们会争抢位置，有些人甚至争抢着要排在队伍最前面那个令人垂涎的位置。有一天，珍妮让他们大吃一惊，她让所有人都转过身，把几秒钟前还在队伍末尾的学生变成领头进入教室的。学生们震惊得说不出话来：“什么——啊——？”
当耶稣在餐桌上看到类似的争抢位置的情况时，祂讲了一个寓言，这无疑让其他客人大吃一惊。祂用一个婚筵的故事教导他们“不要坐在尊位上”，而要“坐在末位上”（路加福音 14:8-10）。基督打破了他们的社会常规，说：“凡自高的，必降为卑；自卑的，必升为高”（11节）。 这个天国的原则可能很难接受，尤其是因为我们人性的诱惑总是想着以某种方式“获胜”，让我们现在就选择末后的位置，以便将来成为第一。
耶稣敦促我们效法祂的榜样，寻求祂的帮助，重新调整我们的思维，将谦卑、末位、卑微视为真正尊贵的地位。
反思与祷告 在你的生活环境中，谁体现了耶稣呼召我们成为的那种谦卑？何时你觉得难以放弃自己的尊贵地位？
耶稣，请帮助我，在任何情况下都显出谦卑。作者：Kirsten Holmberg