Driving to pick up my youngest brother at football practice today, I threw another George MacDonald sermon in the CD player. I'm thankful the Lord guides the car on such occasions; the sheer amount of mind-blowing theology I tried to digest in 20 minutes should have rendered me a road hazard.
While sharp-shooting his way through a tangent on the humanity of Jesus, MacDonald made the uncommon point that by becoming human, Jesus did not “put on” humanity as we tend to think of the concept. Being God He must already be the incarnate fullness of every thing. This does not mean, as many religions assert, that a rock is God, or a dog is God, or that you are God. No. Flip it around. The essence of anything— the beauty of a flower, the wetness of water, the soaringness of flight— takes its truth from God. A flower is only beautiful because God is beautiful. Water is only wet because God is the living water. Flight is only flight because God holds the heavens in His hand. We would do better to say that anything is what it is because God was first.
Humanity is no exception. Working backwards along our hypothesis, God must have been the embodiment of humanity before humanity was ever created out of His perfect and complete nature. Just think on His names. He is the Lion of Judah. Out of that nature He made the mammal lion. He is the Lamb of God. Out of that nature He formed the lamb. He is the vine, the bread, a father, a morning star. Out of His nature sprang vines and bread and fathers and stars. He is the Son of Man. Out of His nature sprang Man.
Which means that Jesus— wait for it— is the most human human being who ever walked the earth. He was not less human for being God: He was more so! Gone is the ambiguity incited by the crowd who cries, “Jesus was God— naturally He didn't have a problem with _____.” He is more human than I. Therefore, when He calls me to be like Himself, He is really saying, “Walk in the fullness of your humanity. Delve the depths of what I meant Man to be.”
As I said, mind-blowing. I should thank Him every day that by embarking on this journey of Christianity I have not bound myself to anything small. It is always, “Further up and further in!” and always will be.
1 comment:
I love the fact that whatever may happen to a person....it can be and it IS understood by Jesus....because He knows what it's like! There is nothing we can experience that He won't understand. That is one of the most amazing things about this relationship we have with Him. No matter what happens in our families or relationships or living circumstances, we will forever be able to run and vent about it to a place of understanding. Incredible.
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