Glad you have chosen to join me for this “Advent Adventure – 2024.” We’re focusing on a journey I took over 50 years ago to the jungles of Mexico and seeing what lessons we can learn to prepare us for our own travels with Christ.
When I arrived in Mexico in September of 1970, I already spoke a good deal of Spanish. Attending the devotional time for the employees who worked at our compound, I found I could understand about 90-95% of what was said in Spanish. When I walked to a local mercado, my ability to use the language allowed me to bargain for better prices on last-minute purchases.
However, once we left the city, drove along the Pan American highway, and flew into the jungle, Spanish would no longer be useful. The natives spoke Tzeltal, a language used long before Cortez and his conquistadores ever arrived. My college education and brilliant personality were useless unless I could learn the basics of the local language. A humbling experience!
When Jesus came to earth to be born in a stable, he couldn’t speak at all. His infant cries alerted Mary to feed him, but he couldn’t communicate all the glories of Heaven. He had to learn to speak Aramaic, just as I needed to learn Tzeltal.
In Phil. 2:6-8, we read, “Though he was God, [Jesus] did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God.”
Before we get to Heaven, we all need to learn humility. Is there some small act of service that you could perform today to serve a friend?
