I received this adorable owl mug for my birthday last month. When I showed my mom the gift I’d been given, she said, “Oh, it says something inside! Let me see it closer.” I handed the mug to her, and she read it out loud, “Hmmm. Don’t forget to be awesome … and modest,” she added.
I laughed. It was a classic comment from her. And to her, it is a loving comment.
As we celebrate the gift of love, it is nice to reminded what love is. And what it is not. Love is not overselling your beloved on how awesome they are. No, love at its best calls out someone’s “awesome” and their modesty at the same time. Too much awesome, and there is no where to go but downward. Too much modesty, and there is no gumption to go upward.
The best way we can love someone is to remind them who they really are. And who we really are would be sons and daughter of the Most High King. He is awesome, and He made us in His image. Therefore, awesomeness is in our DNA. When I drink my coffee from this mug, it reminds me: “Don’t forget to be awesome.” Which means, “Don’t forget to be like your Father.”
Awesome is in our bloodline. Modesty is knowing Who it comes from.
We are reading Psalms 43-49 in our Walk through the Psalms this week, and Psalm 47 says plenty about the source of our “awesome.”
“Come everyone, clap your hands for joy! Shout to God with joyful praise!
For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is the great King of all the earth.
He subdues the nations before us, putting our enemies beneath our feet.
He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance, the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom He loves.”
I will always encourage you to be awesome, to walk with your head held high. But I also will encourage you to be modest, to kneel with your head bowed low.
Modesty– or humility– isn’t downplaying yourself or others. Modesty is knowing the source of your success.
He has made us in His image. He LOVES us and He tells us so. The Bible is our everyday Valentine from Him.
Now, that’s awesome.