Grace and Humility

UV 1200/10,000
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12v 3
Scripture states clearly that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Our faith in God is proportionate to our humility. Our humility depends on how realistically we assess ourselves in the light of the Word and with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Grace is a gift given to us by The Lord to fulfil His purpose and to meet our need. When we hold too high an opinion of ourselves we cannot receive grace. We become too filled with ourselves for God to be able to fill us.
Thinking soberly about ourselves implies that we need to know the extent of our faith and know the strengths and weaknesses of our faith, character and abilities. We need to assess ourselves in terms not of our earthly qualifications, position, wealth or intellectual prowess but by the kind of fruit of the spirit that is in evidence in our lives. How loving are we? How joyful are we regardless of our circumstances? How peaceful are we despite the storms and strife of life? How patient are we with others? How kind are we to those who work under us ? What is the extent of practical goodness we are demonstrating in our lives on a daily basis? How faithful are we to The Lord in our daily walk ? There should be no sign visible or hidden of a kind of spiritual pride or of self righteousness that makes us think that we are better than others or that we are entitled to greater respect or recognition.

It is an axiom that the more we lower ourselves before God He will lift us up and bless us and make us a blessing. Our thoughts, words and actions should prove to people that we consider ourselves humble servants of God chosen not due to any higher merit or quality but due to the sheer favour and sovereign will of The Lord. A constant reminder of the extent of our past unfaithfulness and life of sin would peg us to the ground. Considering others better than ourselves and trying to learn from those aspects would also add to our grace. We should never think how much we have done for The Lord rather we must think how little we have done for The Lord in comparison with all He is and all He has done for us.