Know Thyself, Know Thy Limits
“Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.’” (Matthew 8:10, NASB)
Many have entreated mankind to “Know Thyself.” These words are quoted from the ancients: Chilon, Thales, Juvenal, Socrates, Plato and more recently Hobbes, Pope, Linnaeus, Franklin, Emerson, Coleridge and others. Many of these men would point to human capability as the goal of knowledge; Jesus would disagree. Knowing thyself is not completely sufficient.
The ultimate value in knowing yourself lies in knowing your limits. In response to your own limitations you can turn to Christ, the all-sufficient Lord who is able to meet those needs. Matthew chapter eight tells the story of a Roman centurion who believed that Jesus could heal his servant with only a word. The centurion was a powerful man and yet Jesus said he had the greatest faith: greater than any in Israel! Can you imagine how that must have sounded? A gentile, a Roman official, the enemy of the Jews and an unbeliever and he had the greatest faith? How could it be?
He believed. The centurion knew his power as well as his limitations and trusted in the Most High for sustenance and healing. He was a powerful Roman coming to beg at the feet of the Jewish carpenter. It came at the cost of his dignity but the reward of great faith.
Know thyself? It’s still great advice. But know thyself so thoroughly that the walls of your humanity loom tall before you and your faith causes you to fall at the feet of Jesus.
Father God,
You are mighty: high and lifted up. I honour Your name and adore You as the sovereign LORD. Thank You for designing me in Your image. I recognize my failure to be holy like You. My shortcomings are all too clear. I kneel at Your feet and ask You to do for me today what I cannot do for myself. Heal me. By your Spirit, create in me a pure heart O God. Restore me. Make me more like You.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Question: In what ways do your own limitations draw you closer to God?
ACoolGuy,
That’s right, anyone can have faith. We all do, to some extent, although the things we put our faith and trust in are different for different people.
The point of this devotional was to comment on the popular idea that knowing yourself is the most important thing, which it isn’t. “Know thyself” is what many philosophers, and surprisingly, many modern celebrities are saying.
So instead of bashing what is wrong about “know thyself”, this devotional actually encourages people to “know thyself” so that they realize how much they need God. When you really look inside and come up empty, you can accept that emptiness and live with it, try to fill it with other things, or invite God to live there.
Think about the Roman centurion in Matthew 8. He was rich and powerful and he knew it. But what did he do about it? Boast? Become prideful? Become arrogant? He tells Jesus that people obey his commands and that he is a powerful man. But then something crazy happens. He admits that he does not have the same power as Jesus, who can do all things. That simple faith gets his servant healed. And that is the key: humility that results in faith.
When we know ourselves, we know that we are lacking something. We are flawed. If we invite him, the hope of God can fill and heal us.
Thanks for asking this question ACoolGuy, was it helpful to you?
So this means Any body can have faith? I’m a teen reading these. Can I have a clear explaination on this