Before I was married I lived on my own a few years. While living on my own, going to work and coming home to see nothing had changed since I left, I realized that there was no one around to help clean up the mess or cook the dinner. There was no one to talk to and no one to offer advice. While there were some freedoms to being on my own, I have often claimed that my time alone was not real life. It seems that it takes other people in your life to make it complete.
When we think of our Savior we often have a tendency to see Jesus as this lone man, this supernatural being, God in flesh, existing on a higher emotional and spiritual level than all the rest of us. While being aware of Jesus as God and remembering that he is part of the Holy Trinity is important and can give us some comfort in knowing of the omnipotent powers of God and Christ, it can also put some distance between us.
Jesus had a human side too, and in Matthew we see Jesus teaching in a synagogue. What are the details about Jesus we get from this passage?
Although completely God, Jesus was also completely human. He had the wisdom and the love and the abilities of God, yet he was like any one of us. He had a father who had a fairly ordinary job. He had brothers and sisters. Growing up he most certainly had to keep an eye on the younger kids now and then. He had to share a house and meals with the others.
There was likely love and laughter, as well as the occasional argument, the hurt feelings, the jealousy. Along the way there were times of joy and times of sorrow. Jesus was part of a family, sharing his life and living with others.
And while it is important to know Jesus is God, it is also important to know that Jesus was a human being. He understands what we are going through. He has experienced all the emotions and fears we have had, and his compassion – his love and comfort and mercy – is genuine and true, filled with complete understanding.
DAILY CHALLENGE: Did you have household responsibilities as a teen-ager? Can you imagine Jesus doing that same task?
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