Jesus is not a celebrity!

In Luke 1:46-55 Mary says, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the HUMBLE STATE of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me--holy is his name. His mercy extends to THOSE WHO FEAR HIM, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those WHO ARE PROUD in their inmost thoughts. He has BROUGHT DOWN RULERS from their thrones but has LIFTED UP THE HUMBLE. He has FILLED THE HUNGRY with good things but has SENT THE RICH AWAY EMPTY. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendant forever, even as he said to our fathers."

I love watching how advertisers can take a normal, dull product and sell it by turning it into a celebrity product. I mean how many celebrities actually drive a Buick? Supposedly Tiger Woods does! Does Paris Hilton really eat at Carl's Jr.? Now her fans do! What do Jessica Simpson and cheesy bites from Pizza Hut have in common? Male customers are now trying to find out. There is power in association!

Have you ever noticed how many Christians do the same thing with Jesus? We try to make Jesus appealing by associating him with worldly fame and glamour. If we can just associate Jesus with a famous Christian football player then more people will want to associate themselves with him. If we can just tell people that Warren Buffet became rich because of his commitment to Jesus then we can get people to make church and giving a higher priority (so they can become rich too). But Jesus isn't a celebrity and he is not going to make us celebrities by following him!

The story of Jesus' life as told by Luke makes it clear that God favors the humble and that he calls us to a life of humility. This means that following Jesus requires a willingness to put others above ourselves! Following Jesus requires denying ourselves so that we can love God and other people more passionately. Following Jesus means abandoning our pursuit of success!

In the first chapter of Luke this fact is brought out through a comparison between Zechariah and Mary. In comparison to Zechariah, "Mary holds no official position among the people, she is not described as righteous in terms of observing the Torah, and her experience does not take place in a cultic setting. She is among the most powerless people in society: She is young in a world that values age; female in a world ruled by men; poor in a stratified economy." Despite this she finds "favor with God" and is viewed as "highly gifted" by God while Zechariah is initially found to be unbelieving and is made mute and deaf as a result. This tells us two things about how God functions: First, God uses humble people (Mary). Second, God humbles people so that he can use them (Zechariah).

The fact that God favors humble people is further established in the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:11-12 presents a seeming paradox: A Messiah King is born not in a palace but in a dirty manger. And we see in Luke 2:8-20 that rather than royalty welcoming Jesus into this world, he is greeted by a bunch of lower class shepherds who are at the lowest rung of seniority in their humble profession (we know this because they were working the night shift). God came into this world in a state of humility!

If God came to this earth in humility what posture do you think He wants us to take as we follow Jesus? Well, since we are called to follow a humble Messiah, we too must live with that same humility. This means putting others and God above ourselves, and being willing to associate and love every type of person no matter their position in society.

This brings me to a sad reality...I know more proud people who call themselves Christians than humble people who call themselves Christian. So many professing Christians are selective with whom they associate (they avoid sinners and people who are not like themselves), they cause divisions because they want their preferences to be honored above those of others, they try to stay at the top of the social strata at school and in the community by tearing others down and lifting themselves up, they are quick to consume but slow to serve (that is, they are inward focused rather than outward focused), they are obsessed with worldly success just like everyone else in society...

My question to you is are you proud? Do you think that you can pursue success and Jesus at the same time? Jesus doesn't want his followers to pursue SUCCESS, he wants them to pursue GODLY INFLUENCE. You heard me right, God doesn't want you to be successful, he wants you to be influential. If you are pursuing success my guess is that you're a proud person. If that is true, God will first humble you before he ever uses you in a meaningful way. But if you are pursuing godly influence in your community (above success) then God will use you in a BIG time way! And that's the most exciting place to be! Humility is what opens the door for adventure in the Christian life!