BEING WEAK PART 2

 

Some months ago I wrote a post about total dependence on Christ. One woman was outraged. She said I was ‘making’ people reliant on someone they can’t even see. She also said she doesn’t need to depend on anyone because she is strong enough to do anything herself.  

 

Consider the greatest reason for putting us in the condition of weakness in mortality: "I give unto men weakness that they may be humble" (Ether 12:27). The Saviour then proceeds to say that if we humble ourselves before Him, meaning if we come to Him with a realisation that we need His help, He will grant us strength through His grace to overcome our weaknesses.

 

The weak state of mortality is designed to humble us and strip us of pride. It is designed that way so that we will come to Christ for our salvation.  And so that we will become like Him, devoid of pride.

 

We cannot become gods even with the least degree of pride in us. Consider a god without humility. It means He would be full of pride instead. Pride seeks to elevate the one above the others.

 

If God the Father was full of pride, He would not seek to elevate His children to His station so that they could possess all the riches of eternity that He Himself has. If He was full of pride, He would seek to keep it all to himself because pride only takes care of oneself.

 

The status and power of godhood cannot endure if it is contained by one person. The role of a god is to ‘bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). That’s the ultimate power that no one else but a god can have. Without exalting his children to the status of godhood, God would fail to be a god.

 

This is where Satan misunderstood what it means to be a god. Consider his pride when he volunteered to save us. His intent was to do so by exalting himself whilst Christ’s intent was to exalt others. Christ’s exaltation began in the hour of His humility when He said: “Here am I, send me” (Abraham 3:27).

 

If you exalt yourself in this life through pride, you cannot be exalted on high. Salvation and exaltation comes through humility (Matt 24:12; D&C 101:42; 112:3; 124:114; Alma 4:12,13). Our hour of exaltation begins when we become like the Saviour, devoid of pride. The first step in that direction is our climb to the top of the hill of Calvary……

 

I carried my cross to the foot of Calvary,

While you carried yours to the top.

I cried bitter tears over the injustices of my life,

While you bled valiantly for all that was lost.

I carried my hurts like a badge

So scornfully proud and spiritually poor,

While you rose to the heights of your exalted throne;

Perfected, ennobled and infinitely more.

You are so high

And I am so low;

I consent to climb to Calvary’s top,

I consent to be lifted to Thy throne.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: In Humility by Greg Collins)