In Jesus, we have a God who identifies with us.
Someone once said, 'Many men would be willing to become gods, but only a true God would become a man.
Wow. That's why I believe in Jesus!
Jesus, being God, became man... yes, to save us eternally, but also to understand us fully, in all the circumstances of life.
DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND ME?
There are tough times - I mean, really tough times! - that happen in our
lives, such as:
Business bankruptcy
The loss of a loved one
Family separation
Friendships that disappoint
Divorce
Broken relationships
Old age
Scarcity
Loneliness
Illness
Etc.
In moments like these, we've all asked ourselves: Is there anyone who
understands me?
The answer is... yes. Jesus is the answer.
The Bible says, "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he bore them and carried them all the days of old" (Isaiah 63:9).
TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS IS TO BE LIKE JESUS
In life, sometimes we don't necessarily need someone to give us
a 7-step conference on how to get out of our difficulties... we simply need someone who understands us.
Very often, before hearing the gospel, what people want most is to be
heard.
Most of the time, people aren't looking to hear a word, but for someone to
hear their words.
Let's understand that, and give of what we have. Let's be like Jesus... "who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:4).
When you've been through something, you're not ashamed to join and identify with the kind of people who have gone through the same thing.
Only those who have gone through a trial understand those who are going through it too.
Friends and family are truly God's gifts. The #1 human need is love.
TRIALS REVEAL OUR INNER SELF
Trials have the power to reveal what is in the heart. For example, in the Bible, we have the case of two people who lived together but reacted differently to the same situation: Job and his wife. He showed himself to be strong, while she broke down in the face of the harsh trial that befell the family.
Remember: Life experiences don't define your life, but how you react to those circumstances. "Every day of the afflicted is evil, but the heart that is glad has a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15).
Therefore, I advise you: Fill yourself with God, so that you can successfully overcome all difficulties.
Sometimes we think when faced with mistreatment, "I don't deserve this!" And I tell you, "Of course not! Because, being realistic, what we deserved was hell, so anything less than that is already a gain.
Even so, Jesus experienced the same hell, too, to take our place on the
cross,and to save us.
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF JESUS
Jesus came to experience what we as humans also
experience.
Jesus wept! (John 11:35).
His weeping, His weariness, His death, etc., are evidence of His love for us, because through them He identified with us.
There are words that we generally do not associate with the mighty King Jesus, such as "weak," "poor," "anguished," etc., but they do indeed apply to Him, because they are associated with the figure of the Suffering Messiah prophesied concerning Christ in Isaiah 53.
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:3-8).
HE WHO COMPREHENDS OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
What are the "so human" things that the Lord experienced "in the likeness" of us during His time on earth?
Jesus was hungry.
Jesus was lost from His parents.
Jesus was betrayed by a close friend.
Jesus lived under constant death threats.
Jesus lost a friend to illness.
Jesus lost a family member by beheading, John the Baptist.
Jesus was arrested and imprisoned.
Jesus was rejected by His nation.
Jesus suffered our illnesses and physical pains.
Jesus became poor to enrich us.
Jesus was robbed, "stripped of His clothes."
Jesus was tempted in every temptation.
Jesus lived "by faith" and without a steady income.
Jesus was a foreigner in another country.
Jesus was a victim of an unjust trial.
Jesus was condemned to death.
Jesus was physically tortured.
It can still be said that Jesus is so familiar to us in our human experience that He can understand us in very special and personal situations, such as:
For those seeking to marry, I can say that Jesus thought of His church "as a bride"... and works every day for her toward the Wedding.
For workers who are not well paid, I say: Jesus, even though He was a king, began from the very bottom serving, waiting for His reward from God.
For missionaries who take the Gospel around the world, I remind them that Jesus lived “by faith” and without a fixed income.
For pastors who struggle for their church, I would add that Jesus is also sometimes misunderstood by His church.
For those who strive for a dream in life, Jesus paid the price of obedience and submission for His ministry, doing it all with joy.
In summary, He understands, He comprehends, He helps... "from the cradle to the grave". "Hear me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you" (Isa. 46:3,4).
JESUS COMPASSIONATE TOWARDS SINNERS
One of the things we find most difficult to believe about Jesus understanding us is the issue of temptation to sin, but even in that issue He identifies with us, “For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15,16).
JESUS PROUD OF HIS "HUMAN SIBLINGS"
Do you know that the Master is never ashamed of us? Rather, He is proud of His human brothers who strive to follow God's path.
We are of the same "class" as Him, children of God, and that is why He sees us as brothers.
"For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Hebrews 2:11).
"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:29,30).
THE STRENGTH OF OUR ELDER BROTHER
The Lord is an "inseparable brother" to His younger brothers, through the
Holy Spirit, and He promises to be with us in any circumstance:
Since He "predestined, called, justified, and glorified" us (Romans 8:30), He "defends" us by asking:
Who is against us? (Romans 8:31)
How will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
Who is he who condemns? (Romans 8:34)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:35)
In this passage, Saint Paul, inspired by the Spirit, says that "neither death nor life" will be able to separate us from that "brotherly love" that Jesus has for us. And when he says "life," he refers to all those changing circumstances that can happen to us in the ebb and flow of our human existence, "tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword" (Romans 8:35).
"Neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
YOU WILL RECOVER
In your worst moments, remember: Jesus has already been through it and recovered. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
He not only understands you, but He has also inherited the power that made Him strong and victorious in life, the Holy Spirit.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18).
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26).
And this is where the reason why He "decided to understand us" fits in: Not only to fully understand our situation and not judge us, but to go through the trial with us and then teach us how to come out of it with the power of His authority.
JESUS, MORE HUMAN THAN EVER
In Jesus, we have someone who listens and understands, the friend who understands, the older brother who advises us. His words and example represent the "user manual" for life. He is not only the bridge between us and God the Father, but He truly feels what you feel; He laughs when you laugh and cries when you cry. Jesus' empathy towards us makes Him the perfect professional therapist, but also the perfect travel companion for our temporary journey on this earth, but above all, the ideal Life Mentor who teaches us to conquer mountains in His Name and fight "above circumstances" for the full purpose He has for our lives.
By
ARIEL ROMERO LÓPEZ
Pastor - Vino y Aceite International Ministry
© 2024
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