February 22 Devotion - Jesus is the embodiment of love - A study of Jesus Christ's attributes - Part 4 - Jesus does not dishonour others

God is love.

^{1 John 4:8}

I and my Father are one.

^{John 10:30}

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of love.

 Jesus Christ (Love) is patient,

Jesus Christ is kind,

Jesus Christ does not boast,

Jesus Christ is not proud,

Jesus Christ does not dishonor others,

Jesus Christ is not self-seeking,

Jesus Christ is not easily angered,

Jesus Christ keeps no record of wrongs,

Jesus Christ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth,

Jesus Christ always protects,

Jesus Christ always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres,

Jesus Christ never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

New International Version (NIV)

 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

 طوبى للودعاء .لانهم يرثون الارض

Heureux ceux qui sont doux, car Dieu leur donnera la terre en héritage

Matthew 5:5

Jesus was meek. A meek person would never dishonour another. The meek are among those so favoured that they will share in Jesus' inheritance of the earth.

There are so many words that I think I understand, but a deeper look reveals that I do not, because I am looking at what the world has taught me, not what Jesus meant and how He relates them to the Kingdom of God and in the depth and breadth of what He meant.

Meekness is considered one of the most difficult New Testament words to fully understand. This is so because Jesus elevated the word's common usage far beyond its normal application.

I find that I grew up resenting the thought of being meek because of the connotation given to being meek as being weak, needy, and/or lowly.  I grew up learning how the world worded Mathew 5:5: "Blessed are the strong, who can hold their own." The world favours the so-called heroic virtues. Those who are competitive, aggressive and assertive are the ones who receive recognition, admiration and reward! Do they not seem to end up on top of the pile, possessing the most and best despite flaws in their character?

I am learning that I need (and who knows maybe you too) to unlearn what the world has taught me, before I can learn what Jesus is teaching me and respect and accept being meek. I have a lot to gain when I do. Not to dishonour a person means to honour that person. According to the thesaurus, honour has these synonyms: "esteem, respect, pay homage to, assigning value to."

In order to honour others we first need to start with an attitude of meekness.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. Jesus, help me to unlearn the worldly beatitudes and teach me Your Beatitudes. Teach me to be meek and to honour You and my fellow man. Help me God to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like.In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. ‘Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21 Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein