"The Proper Place"

"Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto Thee!" (Psalms 71:19) It might not seem all that grand, but to be perfectly justified in the Lord, there has got to be some humility and guiltiness on our part. Regardless of your stature or your reputation, God's grace is free to all, but that does not mean that His grace is cheap. This word "righteousness" is the same word from verse 16, the one that speaks of, "What right have I any more?" When you really stop and think about it, Jesus was put through some pretty sick humiliation; more humility than any one of us could ever suffer. I don't care what kind of reputation you think you might have; your stature or reputation does not compare to the Lord's! Jesus took the place between two thieves and made Himself to be a cursed thing; something unbelievable to look upon, and something which was easy to mock at, if not feel the shame He must have displayed. Who can compare to that kind of experience? No one! The older I get, the more shameful I become to the sinfulness that is inside me; yet at the same time, how thankful I am that Jesus took the blame! You just can't express that in any sort of words; there are no words to express the magnitude of grace that was poured out for us. Jesus taking the blame for my sinfulness, is more than just dying for my sins; it's dying for my sinful nature! So, "What right have I any more?" No rights, whatsoever! I surely don't have the right to protect my own reputation, or the right to not face any sort of humiliation. So what is stopping us from getting right before God? What stops anyone from getting right before God? Pride! That is all it is, once and for all; pride is us putting ourselves above God; the God that would take our place upon that cross, and would bare our shame before all humanity...
 "The grave is licking its lips in anticipation, opening its mouth wide. The great and lowly and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up. Humility will be destroyed, and people brought down; even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation. But the LORD of Heaven's Armies will be exalted by His justice. The holiness of God will be displayed by His righteousness. In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and goats will feed among the ruins. What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!" (Isaiah 5:14-18) NLT