Jesus as Human

Hey, y’all. It’s Daisy. Today, we are on the “What Am I Grateful For?” page of our Alone With God journal. In the spirit of being grateful, I just want to say I am so grateful for this journal. This is the part of the journal where we reflect on what God has blessed us with, and God has used this journal to bless me with a deeper understanding of who God is. It’s really enriched my life. So, I love sharing what I’ve learned with you guys.

If you don’t have our Alone With God journal, you are missing out. I’m sorry to say that, but you are. So, if you would like to get one, please get one. You can get them at wordbymail.com. I actually gave one to one of my friends, and so now we’re meeting up, and we’re journaling every day. And it’s really fun. It’s nice to be able to spend time alone with God but next to someone else.

Today, I want to share one of my own entries so it feels like you’re doing your devotional with someone else.

Philippians 2:6-8 (NKJV)
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

You know, sometimes I wonder when Jesus carried the Cross to his final moments; I wonder if the smell of the wood made him homesick. I wonder if it reminded him of his childhood or made his heart ache for Joseph, his earthly father, in the same way a smell can bring us back to a memory or a moment in time.

And I think about Jesus being fully human. Fully human, just without sin. He had a human heart, a human body, and human senses. And a human will that he navigated with his own divinity.

John 4:6 says that Jesus grew tired.
Matthew 21:12-13 says that Jesus felt anger.
John 19:28 says that Jesus experienced thirst.
Matthew 4:2 tells us that Jesus was hungry.
Luke 19:41 says that Jesus knew sadness.
Matthew 4:1 says that Jesus felt tempted.

The brilliance of God to come down to earth and experience life as one of his own creations is incredibly merciful and miraculous. But when I put aside that idea and I recognize the humanity of Jesus, I am drawn even closer to him because I feel like I can understand him better. I feel like I relate to him. It makes me feel less alone in my own humanity, and it makes me feel that every detail of my story is perfectly planned, which allows me to trust God with my future.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank you for coming down to earth and taking on human form so that you could lead the way for all creation. Help me to never lose sight of your humanity and the sacrifices that you made in your own human form. Thank you for loving us enough to become one of us. In Jesus’ name, amen.