Hebrews 4: 15 NKJV
There is a belief out there that in order to fully understand a person that you need to walk awhile in their shoes. That is, you need to share in the experiences they have gone through. While this may enlighten us to their struggles they endure, many times it fails to shed light on the person we're seeking to know. That may take a bit more effort. That being said, there is something to be said about knowing the difficulties others have gone through. If I am aware of the struggles my friend is facing, I have a better understanding of why he is doing things the way he does. As believers, all too often we are left feeling as if we are on our own as we endure our life situations. This is exaggerated by the teaching of the institutional church which tells us that our own relationship with God and Jesus is based on how we perform. Too many times I have heard the message that if I am struggling that I must have done something to displease God. I remember as a young Christian pleading with God to walk in my shoes and experience my struggles through my eyes. As if God were unaware or somehow did not care about us. Again, this comes out of a mistaken belief. The belief that God is somehow separate from our own life. Nothing could be further from the truth. The issue is our belief of who God truly is. Once we wrap our understanding around this, our view of Him changes. So, who is God? Well, the apostle John tells us that God is...love {1 John 4:8}. Paul also reveals the Father to us as he tells us that it is Jesus who lives in him {Galatians 2:20}. These are scriptures which we find in the bible, yet they are some of the most misunderstood passages I've come across. As believers, we've been told that God cannot be in the presence of sin. Whether this is true our not, it definitely affects our own interactions with Him. I remember the times I needed to find Him, to make time for Him and to seek Him, as if God were somewhere else but with me in that moment. Again, this comes straight out of church doctrine. Now, how is it that I need to search for Jesus who lives in me? This may seem a bit comical, but all too many Christians share in this belief. I recall a church I once attended actually offering up a weekend retreat to seek God. Really? As I've said, this is a mistaken belief on our part.
The other disciples therefore said to him, "we have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
John 20: 25 - 27 NKJV
Do you believe that Jesus simply cannot understand your situation because He is holy and has never experienced any of the human troubles which plague our lives? Well, you might want to rethink that. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Himself has suffered through what we have {Hebrews 4:15}. If we accept the belief that Jesus was Himself fully human as well as being fully God, then we also must accept the fact that He went through more than a few human experiences as well. Simply put, Jesus is not perfect. Now, before you label me a heretic, think of what it means to be human. As humans, we do some pretty imperfect things. Was Jesus immune from all of this despite His being human? I don't buy that line of thinking. We need to assume that Jesus endured insults, pain, illness as well as those all too familiar embarrassing moments we've all faced. Can you imagine a young Jesus slamming His finger with a hammer and yelling, "Peace be with you, dad!?" Can you see a young Jesus arguing with His parents about something He felt He should be able to do? Indeed, the human side of Jesus is something which we all can relate to. I can definitely relate to a guy who belched , farted and got angry on occasion. Yet seeing Jesus in this way is a tough pill to swallow for many Christians. This is why we keep Jesus in a box, holy and blameless. Indeed, He was all of this, as well as being human. Think of some of your most embarrassing moments, then imagine Jesus going through the same thing. He got lost, He didn't always do what His parents told Him and He most certainly got the locals attention by hanging out with those boys in Galilee right? This is the human side of Jesus. Of course, when we understand who we are in Christ, we also understand that Jesus shares in our own human experiences as well. We're not perfect, and we share in that with Jesus Himself.
~Scott~
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