Jesus Christ’s coming was the humblest way a King could ever be born in this world. He is the King of all Kings and yet he was a babe laid in a lowly manger. He lived a very simple life. During his mortal ministry, he did not boast of his own strength, rather he always acknowledged that his strength came from Heavenly Father. This is apparent when he said “I can of mine own self do nothing.… I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). Jesus Christ is our greatest example of humility. He displayed this example when he humbly submitted to the will of his Father that brought to pass the Atonement—the greatest, even the most powerful event in the history of mankind.
With Jesus Christ’s perfect example of humility, how then, in this confusing and noisy world, can we emulate this attribute in our lives? Jesus gave an answer in the 18th chapter of the book Matthew when his disciples came to him and asked,
1 Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
From these scripture passages, we learn that to become humble is to become as a child. In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin shared in his sermon some guidance on the qualities that we must develop to become like a child. He said, “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”
Becoming as a child is a gradual process. It might be more proper to say that it is an eternal pursuit because it requires constant effort and diligence to be able to say to the Father, “Thy will be done.”
Promises have been given to those who are humble in the bible:
“The Lord dwells with him that is humble.” Isa. 57:15
“He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Matt. 23:12
“God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” 1 Pet. 5:5–6
May we, in all walks of life, have the desire to become like a child that one day we will be one of the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
