A Heart for the Humble: Luke 18:9-14
As our Heart of the King series draws closer to Holy Week, Pastor Dave led us deeper into the heart of Christ by exploring God's love for the humble. Following Jesus, we are not called to pride, self-importance, or constant comparison. We are called to a life of humility—a heart that trusts God more than itself.
Opening with a story about an ill-fated moving trip and an overconfident knot-tying disaster, Pastor Dave reflected on how easy it is to think, "I’ve got this," even when we don’t. Pride creeps in when we assume we know better, need no help, or live as if we have it all figured out. But God calls us not to self-reliance, but to honest dependence on Him.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells a powerful parable contrasting a proud Pharisee and a humble tax collector. The Pharisee stands confidently before God, listing his virtues and thanking God that he is not like "other people." Meanwhile, the tax collector, broken and aware of his need, can barely lift his eyes. He simply prays, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus makes it clear: it is the tax collector—not the Pharisee—who goes home justified before God.
Pastor Dave pointed us to a deeper truth: God isn't looking for perfect resumes. He’s looking for humble hearts. In a world obsessed with being right, powerful, and self-assured, Jesus invites us to be something radically different—to be honest, to be humble, and to trust Him.
Drawing from 2 Chronicles 33, Pastor Dave shared the story of King Manasseh, a ruler who thought he knew better than God. Manasseh’s pride led Judah into deep sin, idolatry, and even violence. Only after being humbled—defeated, imprisoned, and broken—did Manasseh finally cry out to God. And when he did, God's mercy met him there. The Old Testament and New Testament stories together paint the same picture: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humility isn’t weakness—it’s strength rightly placed. It’s the strength to admit that we are not enough on our own. It's the wisdom to kneel when the world demands we stand tall. It's the grace to love when the world tells us to win arguments instead.
As Pastor Dave reminded us, the world doesn’t need a church that’s always “right.” It needs a church that always loves. A church that kneels like the tax collector, repents like Manasseh, and loves like Jesus. A church that points not to itself, but to the Savior who makes all things new.
This Lent, the call is clear: To walk humbly with our God. To trust His grace more than our own strength. And to let our lives be shaped by the same humility that led Jesus to the cross.
