因为在神没有一件事是不可能的

True humility is the ability to learn something from anyone.
I came across one of my old entries recently. It was posted on a Sunday night in 2005 before I went to CCBC. In it I talked about Ned. It's likely that none of you know Ned, even if you did go to my church back then. His name wasn't really Ned. When I introduced myself to him I asked for his name and he said, "You can give me a nickname." So I named him Ned. New Mexico Ned.

He came to the church for about a month. He was even going to small Bible studies. Not very many people talked to him though. Many people were uncomfortable around him. He didn't mean to make people uncomfortable but there was nothing he could do about it. It's just how he was. He would come to church early and stay late, lending a hand wherever he could. Even though he did all that he was often unappreciated.

You see, Ned was homeless. He was dirty, smelly, tall, unshaven, and he came with a huge duffel bag containing everything he owned. He was everything that many people don't like to look at on a beautiful Sunday morning. The few that talked to him might have seen something different. At least I saw something different. I saw a man who was gentle, faithful, kind, and real.

What is really amazing about Ned is that I only knew him for a month and I remember every conversation we had. I learned more from him than I have from most pastors and teachers I've known. When I think about everything I learned from Ned, I think about all the people that went to the same church and missed the opportunity to talk to him.

In Matthew 3 this beast of a man is busy dunking people in a dirty river when the religious leaders come to see what is going on. He rails on them saying,

"Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

They could have learned something from him, but they were far too proud. I would like to think if I had someone so gnarly looking rebuke me with words like that I might learn something. However, the reality is probably shockingly similar to how much these religious leaders learned.

It's hard to learn from people so different from yourself. This is where it comes into play for me. Toss a business man in front of me and it's likely that I'll have no interest in what he has to say. Put Ned in front of me and I'm all ears. Set up a meeting with any number of mega-pastors and I won't show. Take me out to lunch with a strung out alky just looking for his next hit and I'll be there. But that's not good.

I'm exactly like everyone who looked at Ned and crossed the road to get by him. I just do it with a different type of people. I'm pretty good at listening to people that nobody else wants to hear from but I need to be able to learn from anyone — pastors and teacher, suits and ties, yuppies and their rich kids.

So I find this thought running through my head when I'm interacting with people recently. What is it that God wants to teach me at this moment, through this person?

Because true humility is the ability to learn something from anyone.