Discipleship is a process of being both humbled down and lifted up

Devotional By Asher Intrater Rabbi Menahem Mendel Morgenstern of Kutsk (1787 - 1859) is known to have said, "Every man should have a note in one pocket saying, 'The whole world was created for me,' and a note in the other pocket saying, 'I'm nothing but dirt and ashes.'" Let's compare verses from Genesis 1, 2, and 3. Genesis 1:26 – And God said, "Let us make man in our image, as our likeness, he will rule over the fish of the sea... and all the earth." In a certain way, we are "like" God. He created the earth for us and commanded us to take dominion over it. All the world was indeed created for us. On the other hand we are simply created beings. He created us out of the dirt. Mankind dies and goes back to being simply dirt. Genesis 3:19 - ... until you return to the earth for from it you were taken, for you are dust and to the dust you will return. This is a paradox, a double truth that seems contradictory. It takes great faith to see ourselves "like God" and sharing in His divine nature (II Peter 1:4). It takes great humility to see ourselves as mere dirt. We are a combination of the creator and the created. We are "half-God" and "half-mud."Genesis 2:7 – YHVH God formed man, dust from the earth, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. God blew into us of His own spirit to give us life. (Yeshua blows into us the Holy Spirit again to give us eternal life – John 20:22.) By revelation, we need to be aware of our lowliness and our highness. In years of walking with the Lord, we understand more and more how lowly we are without Him, and how high He wants to bring us. II Corinthians 4:7 – This treasure is given to us in vessels of clay in order that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Discipleship is a process of being both humbled down low and lifted up high.