Ever since I got married, I’ve allowed myself to ponder (sometimes!) what it would be like to have children. I’ve grown up only knowing what it is like to be a child. It will be interesting to be on the other side of the fence to say the least.
When we’re children, we hardly think beyond the things and the people that are in front of us. We look to our parents and marvel how amazing it is that they know everything! Mommy can cook anything and Dad can fix anything. We rarely take the time to consider the fact that they, too, must have been children at one point, just like us. We don’t consider what kind of life they led. What kind of experiences did they have that shaped them into the people that they are today? We forget that they’re people just like us, too!
As I’ve gotten older, getting to the age where my parents were parents with me and my siblings, I’ve started to realize that my children, when they’re younger, they will look up to me and not understand the kind of history that I’ve had and the journey that I’ve taken that led me to the moment where I was their parent. It’ll be hard for them to comprehend that I once was in high school never mind that I have the yearbooks to prove it. My kids will be flabbergasted to learn that I once had to deal with videocassette tapes and CDs, instead of a DVR and iPods. It’ll be weird for them to imagine a world where I once had to dial a telephone just to get on the internet–and it was S L O W and had no video! That and about 100 other things that they may never know about.
When I got to the age where I started seeing my parents just as human as I was, it changed my relationship with them. I was able to relate with them on a new level, a level where I was on equal ground with them as people. Doing that with my parents also that helped me see at Jesus in a new light. He was a person, just like you and I. He once was a child who grew up, had wonderful and not-so-wonderful experiences that shaped him into the person that he was. He had friends and ate and laughed and wept. He worked, walked, and went to parties with family. If Jesus went to high school, I bet it would be amazing and a revelation to see his yearbook picture, just like it was for me the first time I saw my mom’s high school yearbook picture. Sometimes we focus so much on Jesus’ deity and sinlessness that we forget about the human aspect of him.
Just like with our parents, once we grasp the truth of Christ’s humanness, it will change the way we relate to and perceive him. Rather than being someone who you can’t identify with, he’ll feel more reachable and relatable. He’ll be more… human. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
– Matt
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Jesus, the Human
July 23, 2009
Calvary
Comments Off on Jesus, the Human
Matt
Ever since I got married, I’ve allowed myself to ponder (sometimes!) what it would be like to have children. I’ve grown up only knowing what it is like to be a child. It will be interesting to be on the other side of the fence to say the least.
When we’re children, we hardly think beyond the things and the people that are in front of us. We look to our parents and marvel how amazing it is that they know everything! Mommy can cook anything and Dad can fix anything. We rarely take the time to consider the fact that they, too, must have been children at one point, just like us. We don’t consider what kind of life they led. What kind of experiences did they have that shaped them into the people that they are today? We forget that they’re people just like us, too!
As I’ve gotten older, getting to the age where my parents were parents with me and my siblings, I’ve started to realize that my children, when they’re younger, they will look up to me and not understand the kind of history that I’ve had and the journey that I’ve taken that led me to the moment where I was their parent. It’ll be hard for them to comprehend that I once was in high school never mind that I have the yearbooks to prove it. My kids will be flabbergasted to learn that I once had to deal with videocassette tapes and CDs, instead of a DVR and iPods. It’ll be weird for them to imagine a world where I once had to dial a telephone just to get on the internet–and it was S L O W and had no video! That and about 100 other things that they may never know about.
When I got to the age where I started seeing my parents just as human as I was, it changed my relationship with them. I was able to relate with them on a new level, a level where I was on equal ground with them as people. Doing that with my parents also that helped me see at Jesus in a new light. He was a person, just like you and I. He once was a child who grew up, had wonderful and not-so-wonderful experiences that shaped him into the person that he was. He had friends and ate and laughed and wept. He worked, walked, and went to parties with family. If Jesus went to high school, I bet it would be amazing and a revelation to see his yearbook picture, just like it was for me the first time I saw my mom’s high school yearbook picture. Sometimes we focus so much on Jesus’ deity and sinlessness that we forget about the human aspect of him.
Just like with our parents, once we grasp the truth of Christ’s humanness, it will change the way we relate to and perceive him. Rather than being someone who you can’t identify with, he’ll feel more reachable and relatable. He’ll be more… human. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
– Matt
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