Humbly Bold

When a child, my aunt gave me Johnny-jump-ups. Little tiny flowers, unassuming--but yet a deep, deep vibrant purple. Bold in their jumping up in unexpected places. Humility and boldness. Not something our culture often puts together. Not something our hearts want to put together. Bold in the push for our own way. Bold in the we know right. Bold for our rights. Bold in this is our area of expertise, this is our area to shine, this is what we can do in our strength. Or “humble” in shame, in peace-keeping, in avoiding confrontation, in deflated and disillusioned pride. But humbly bold?

Jonathan, King Saul’s son and David’s friend, was humbly bold. Courageous enough to confront a pack of Philistines with just his armor bearer. Boldly honest enough to confront his father the king, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you…. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” (1 Sam. 19:4-5). Yet, he was humble enough to encourage David in his own struggles, even though his father warned him, “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he [David] shall surely die” (1 Sam. 20:31). With his very own kingdom at stake--for he was the heir--Jonathan still went out and “strengthened [David’s] hand in God.” He encouraged him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you. You shall be king over Israel” (1 Sam. 23:16-17a). Humility and courage! Grace and truth! We find beauty in that.

Jesus, humbly bold, the Lion and the Lamb. He the perfect blend of being bold in dependence on his Father and bold in his looking out for the interests of the poor, the weak, the lost. Courageous enough to confront and conquer the Prince of Darkness, death itself, and the sin that resides in our hearts. Boldly honest enough to confront the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the shortcomings of the seven churches in Revelation, and our churches and us today. Humble enough to wash the disciples feet, to die in the most shameful and humiliating way, and to have patience with us when we fail to love him with all the worth that he is due. With his very own life at stake, Jesus still walked the path of suffering for us and his Father’s glory. Hours before the cross, in his own “anguish of soul” (John 12), he comforted his disciples, and is our High Priest to give us mercy and grace in our time of need because of his suffering (Heb. 4:15-16).

Can we be humbly bold? A confident death-to-self? A pouring out with joy? Encouraging to others despite ___? Confronting because of love, not rights? Jesus, form your beauty in us.