Daily Word of Grace # 74 (June 26, 2020)
One of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history is the legendary Joe Montana, who led the San Francisco 49’ers to four Super Bowl titles. In addition to his prolific statistics and his ability to come through in the clutch again and again, Joe also had the respect of his teammates because of something else, his humility. In his 2015 biography, Montana, Keith Dunnavant describes what Joe Montana would do: “Whenever some defensive player charged through the line and slammed him to the ground, Montana was not the sort of quarterback who returned to the huddle breathing fire, demanding accountability. Usually, in such situations, he would say, ‘My fault. I held the ball too long.’ Even when it wasn’t, and he hadn’t. In these moments, his teammates found the sort of strength that built confidence and the kind of humility that promoted loyalty” (206). Sometimes when we make mistakes in our lives, when we metaphorically miss a block, we expect God to return to the huddle “breathing fire, demanding accountability.” But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus humbled himself to the point of being a servant, humbled himself in being “slammed to the ground” and nailed to a cross, and humbled himself in dying an ignominious death (Philippians 2:6-8). Even though scripture is clear that he never sinned, Jesus still took the blame upon himself “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). And by the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus’ humility can promote loyalty within us toward God.
Love and Prayers,
Dave