A Humbling Moment

I often see this situation with many of my students, and maybe one of my students reading this can relate. As all good martial artists know, there are techniques, katas, wazas, and other aspects in our training that can cause a feeling of incompetence. As an instructor, I can see the disappointment on that student’s face. I can tell that they feel like a failure. Though failing is a good learning experience (builds character), it always brings back memories where I was in that same situation as that student. I have empathy for that student because I know how hard it can be. I like to call this a “humbling moment”, where the student can not only have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, but also an opportunity for the instructor and student to form that family type of bond. Though punching and kicking is important in the martial art, having a sense of community brings out the best in us.

This also applies to us in our relationship with God. Like that student, there are many aspects (all aspects) of God’s law that we fall short in, especially because of temptation. There are so many tricks that the devil tries to play on people, and we fall short and lose our chance to have paradise in heaven. Yet, we have a savior who felt that empathy from the start. The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 4 that we have someone who has been tempted like us yet never fell in it. Jesus could have come down to earth as a high priest who only focused on a select few, but He came down as one of us. We need someone who can relate to us and Jesus, out of his humbleness, became a person who was tempted, yet never gave in for our sake. That was His “humble moment” for all of us! Praise God for giving his Son for our benefit so we can have that sense of belonging.