Let's Be Real

 
John 1 says,  "...and the Word (meaning Jesus) became flesh."
In other words, God became human. Fully became human. 
 So why are our images unreal when it comes to Jesus?
For example: I haven’t been able to find any pictures of Jesus crying as a baby.Most of our images are of the peaceful, 'silent night' variety "The little Lord Jesus no crying he makes…." (from Away in the Manger)
But what does this say? That Jesus was so holy that--even as a baby--he was the perfect sleeper and never drove his earthly parents to total exhaustion? Taken too far, it could lead us to think that children aren't allowed to cry in church...
But John 11:35 says,“Jesus wept.”
 There is no sin in crying. If he cried as an adult, I'm pretty sure he wept as a baby.
What if the wise men traveled so very far only to arrive when the little guy was howling his lungs out? What if the three kings met the Word of God when he was teething? Would that scene be any less miraculous and wondrous than the perfect-picture quiet one? No! 
Jesus was fully human. That's part of the wonder and miracle of the incarnation.
YES, Jesus was (IS) fully divine and fully God. YES, there was (IS) something special about the birth scene of the One who saved (is saving) the world, but let's not forget that Jesus was (IS) Emmanuel, too. God WITH us. Fully with us in our struggles and our mess.
Life is messy. God gets that.
We're the ones who try to hide it away.
 
“Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. “ ~Hebrews 4:14-16 (the Message)


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