Investigating the Bible: Humble fruit

John Barletta worked as a Secret Service agent for Ronald Reagan at his Santa Barbara ranch. Very skilled on horseback, he became the president’s riding companion.

Reagan’s code name was Rawhide. He always met new staff, so Barletta radioed one new agent: “Rawhide would like to meet you.” The young man was at the top of a hill on his horse and thought he’d show off by racing down. As he came around the barn in front of Reagan, the horse stumbled in a ditch, sending the agent somersaulting right over the horse’s head.

Remarkably, he landed on his feet, horse reins still in hand. Reagan looked over at Barletta and asked, “Say, John, does he always dismount that way?”

Pride has few good outcomes, humility many. Knowing this, the apostle Paul described two wellsprings of humility in his letter to the Ephesians.

Humility comes through the power of prayer. “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3, English Standard Version used throughout).

It is best to not be limited by chapter and verse divisions for Bible study, since they were not in the first copies of the scriptures. Paper, called papyrus, was costly. To save space, scribes wrote in what we would call all capitals, no punctuation nor spacing.

SCRIPTURESWEREWRITTENTHISWAYTHEYWEREDIFFICULTTOREAD.

Chapter divisions were added in the 13th century, versification in the 16th century.

Also, “therefore” is a cue to read the preceding paragraphs to understand. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith––that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19). A church filled with the fullness of God has no room for pride.

Humility comes from unity. Paul used seven commonalities shared by the church to lay a unified foundation: “There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6). All share equally; no one is better.

One man displayed the fruit of humility at the end of his life. In WWII, the Japanese interred Chinese missionaries in concentration camps, adults and children together. Food and supplies were scarce, but they had freedoms inside the barbed wire fences. Some missionaries formed cliques. Some tried to hoard food. But one man called “Uncle Eric” set a godly example. He helped set up a school; he taught Bible and science classes. He’d mend broken toys; he set up evening games for the teenage boys and directed square dances. He was adored and respected by all. “Uncle Eric” was Eric Liddell, the world-famous Flying Scotsman and Olympic gold medalist. His stunning accomplishments were hidden beneath his unassuming, quiet demeanor, though when different sections of the camp competed in footraces, it was no surprise that Eric’s team always won. The entire camp mourned, when he died at age 43 from a brain tumor. Another prisoner wrote: “It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known.”

Dave Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) is a Polk County, Oregon, resident and graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota (M.Div., M.Th.).