God’s greatest act of humility and love was that of sending his beloved firstborn Son to be born on earth and raised as a human for the salvation of mankind. (John 3:16) Jesus taught us the truth about his heavenly Father and then gave up his perfect human life to take away “the sin of the world.” (John 1:29; 18:37) Perfectly reflecting his Father, including Jehovah’s humility, Jesus was willing to do what God asked of him. That was the greatest example of humility and love ever set by one of God’s creatures. Not all appreciated Jesus’ humility, his enemies even considering him to be “the lowliest one of mankind.” (Daniel 4:17) Nonetheless, the apostle Paul realized that his fellow believers should imitate Jesus and thus be humble in their dealings with one another.—1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 2:3, 4.
Paul highlighted Jesus’ outstanding example, writing: “Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men. More than that, when he found himself in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake.”—Philippians 2:5-8.
Some might wonder, ‘How did Jesus learn to be humble?’ It was a marvelous benefit of his close association with his heavenly Father for aeons of time, during which he served as God’s “master worker” in the creation of all things. (Proverbs 8:30) After the rebellion in Eden, God’s Firstborn was in a position to note his Father’s humble dealings with human sinners. Accordingly, when on earth, Jesus reflected his Father’s humility and made the appeal: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for your souls.”—Matthew 11:29; John 14:9.
Because Jesus was genuinely humble, little children were not afraid of him. Rather, they felt drawn to him. He for his part showed fondness for children and gave attention to them. (Mark 10:13-16) What was it about children that Jesus found so appealing? Certainly, they had desirable qualities that some of his adult disciples did not always display. It is a simple fact that little children view adults as being superior. You can see this by the many questions they ask. Yes, compared with many adults, children are more teachable and not as prone to pride. On one occasion, Jesus singled out a young child and said to His followers: “Unless you turn around and become as young children, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” He continued: “Whoever will humble himself like this young child is the one that is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.” (Matthew 18:3, 4) Jesus stated the rule: “Everyone that exalts himself will be humbled and he that humbles himself will be exalted.”—Luke 14:11; 18:14; Matthew 23:12.
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