THE HUMANITY OF ONE WHO SERVES THE LORD BEING HUMAN—THROUGH THE PROPER HUMAN NATURE
To be human is to take the proper way of a man. It is to have the proper moral ethic. The humanity of one who serves the Lord must be: 1) a coming forth of God and 2) fully human, that is, it must have the proper human flavor. If there is no human flavor, at best it will be like an angel, and at worst, it will be like a demon. For us to serve the Lord, we must not be like angels or demons. We have to be human, we must be like a man. If we go to the villages for the gospel outreach, and we give others the impression that we are like angels, I am afraid no one would dare to come close to us. Hence, we need to be human. This also is a part of our humanity.
THE NEED FOR THE EXCELLENT VIRTUES IN SERVING THE LORD
The highest morality is one in which divinity is added to our humanity. This is the divine attributes of God expressed in the created virtues of man. It is also the most excellent virtue. According to our understanding of the Bible and our personal experience, there are seven items of these excellent virtues.
Extraordinary Love
Love is the first item of these excellent virtues. This love is extraordinary. We can love to an extent that we even love our enemies (Matt. 5:44).
Boundless Forbearance
To forbear is to forgive. When we forgive, our hearts have to be boundless. A narrow person cannot forgive. Hence, we need to have a boundless forbearance. We have to forbear to an extent that we can forgive our enemies and those who hate us.
According to our experience, it is easier to love our enemies than to forgive them. Sometimes we can love others but cannot forgive them. For example, I can love you, but I may not be able to forget that you have offended me. Because I love you, even though you are my enemy, I can give you a Bible. But it is very difficult for me to forget the offense that you have done to me. Hence, it is not easy to forgive. For this reason, the Lord set a good example for us in the Gospels. Although men reviled Him unceasingly while He was on earth, His last act on earth before He died was a prayer for man, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). This is boundless forbearance.
Unparalleled Faithfulness
We have to deal with others with consistency and in faithfulness. We should not betray others or the Lord. There must be unparalleled faithfulness.
Absolute Humility
Our humility has to be absolute. Not only do we have to be humble. We have to be in humiliation. To be humble is to be low, but to be humiliated is to be made small. To serve the Lord we need an absolute humility.
Utmost Purity
Not only do we have to be clean. We have to be pure as well. And this purity must be to the utmost.
Supreme Holiness and Righteousness
Towards God we have to be supremely holy, and towards man we have to be supremely righteous. Towards God we have to be fully separated, and toward man, we have to be fully proper, with no fault whatsoever. This is supreme holiness and righteousness.
Brightness and Uprightness
The first item is love, and the last item is light. The brightness to which we refer here is different from the brightness the world talks about. Here we mean light. We have to walk in light. Everything we do must be in the light and must not be in darkness. We must be thoroughly upright and forthright, and must not be narrow-minded or suspicious in any way.
All the seven items combined give a proper humanity for a servant of the Lord.
In conclusion, the Christian humanity is a life lived out through the mingling of the divine attributes and the created human morality. May the Lord preserve us to serve Him all the days of our life, without turning back or deviating. May we all live out the proper humanity of one who serves the Lord. The Lord be merciful to us all.
(A message given by Brother Witness Lee in Taipei on March 14, 1989)
(The Glorious Vision and the Way of the Cross, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
