One of Us

Have you ever had an awesome idea, and you went into action to make it happen?  You poured tons of energy, thought, and care into this idea.  It became a part of you.  And then...something went wrong.  It didn’t turn out the way you planned...and hoped.  In fact, it took a nosedive, and ended up being the opposite of what you had dreamed.  What sacrifices would you make to turn it around, and make it happen the way you had envisioned?

Our Father God had an awesome idea—us!  When He supernaturally created us as human beings, we were perfect, and in a perfect love relationship with Him.  Then...we blew it.  We took a nosedive and ended up in a broken relationship apart from Him.  We tried all kinds of ways to repair that break...but nothing worked...until...

“He (Jesus) had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion...” to repair the break, and join us to Him once again.  [Phil 2:6-8a (Message)]

Jesus loved us so much, that He left His home to come to us on earth.  He limited Himself when He became completely human.  He took off His divine attributes—like being able to see everything, know everything, and be everywhere at once.  He went through the same process of humanity that we do—beginning with fertilization, going through birth, and growing up with parents and multiple siblings (brothers and sisters).  He grew from an infant to a toddler, to a young child, to a teenager, and finally to an adult.  He went to school, did chores, played with friends in the neighborhood, may have had a pet, told funny stories, laughed, ate good food, celebrated holidays and special occasions with cousins and other family, had good days and bad days, and experienced loss (his earthly dad died sometime when he was a child or young adult).  He was fully human...from His first breath to His last.  He did not give up on being human.  He did not change His mind and rely on His divine attributes.  He lived completely human.  Totally human.  Just like us.  Because of this, “our high priest (Jesus) is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.”  Hebrews 4:15-16 (NCV)  

He knows what it’s like to be in our shoes, experiencing everything we do, yet not giving in, or giving up.  He has enough mercy and grace to help us when we need it.

As you go through your day, think of what it must have been like for Jesus to grow up as a human.  He knew what we needed, so He became one of us, to be with us.  How can we enter into our neighbor’s world to fully, humanly love in the same way?