Is true humility shrinking away from being noticed at all? Wasn't Jesus a walking light among people? Didn't he show God to the world even though it made the Pharisees angry enough to literally kill him?
It seems every time we are taught about humility, it is to shrink away from being ourselves and in a way it is, but it is so that we can allow the glory of God to shine through us. We can't do that if we stay in the background trying to blend into it.
We are taught that to be a good Christian is to allow God to form us into the image of Jesus. Yes, we should, but the image of Jesus is the thing I question. The Jesus that I read about in the Bible does not shrink back from anything. He strides along telling everything He knows about the Father. He teaches in the Synagogues and in the streets and in the woods. He reaches out across all lines, busting barriers put up by man and touches different races, sexes, ages. He is a walking light. People followed him everywhere.
Traditional religion has blasted away at our Christ-likeness and attempted to burn their view of Jesus into our heads. God's Word does not say to: wear our hair in a bun or wear long skirts, long sleeves, dark suits; stay away from the movie theaters and television; not listen to music; only do what the preacher says we can do or that we even have to go to an organized "church" for that matter; ask permission before we minister or teach others about His word or a lot of other "additions or interpretations" that have been credited to God's Word through the centuries.
NO, we are to be the bright and shining star, the light on the hill, the beacon that lures people to us by being different, by showing our love for each other, and to quote Marianne Williamson, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. (Italics mine) ....We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us."
Humility is NOT fading away into oblivion so no one notices us. Through our efforts to be like Jesus, we need to study the life of Jesus in the New Testament, watching Him as he moves through the countryside, the towns, and groups of people. Watch how he deals with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and how he relates to the people closest to him. People NOTICE him. He is FABULOUS! So should we be!
