I have always understood and accepted the deity of Christ. I know he was human enough to suffer and die. I accepted Christ as my savior at a young age and have never seriously doubted His reality, sacrifice, and love. But this year in CBS we studied the book of Luke, start to finish, in depth for 9 months. And I was impressed by His humanity in ways I never had been. He got tired, was "weary" when he met the Samaritan woman. He got frustrated. He did NOT want to be involved when the wine ran out at the wedding, but he honored his mother by dealing with the situation. And he could become physically weak. At the end of his earthly ministry, he was beaten and tortured. Dehydrated and hungry, suffering from blood loss, he fell under the physical burden of the cross and was unable to get up.
I suffer from a muscle disease, and a few years ago started falling down often. Now I use a walker or wheelchair to try to minimize falls and injuries, but things still happen. When I fall down, I am physically unable to get up without significant help. On March 1 I fell in Walmart and it took several people, eventually using a sheet to lift me up high enough to get onto my walker. During this 45 min ordeal I was frustrated, humiliated and scared. This is after 3 years of living with this disease. Prior to that, I was a NICU nurse. I am a single mom. I was a capable, productive, respected adult. Now I rarely drive, and am almost never alone, because it is not safe if I fall to not have someone there to get me help. Jesus might have been human, but I was not sure before the final days that he had ever even had a blister, little less dealt with severe physical limitations and frustrations, the challenges of parenting, etc.
But he spent 3 years shepherding the 12 disciples around. Sorry, no disrespect, but that had to be as hard as keeping up with my 2 kids. Can you just imagine Peter wandering off hither and yon, while Andrew kept asking, "Are we there yet?" and Judas tried continually to wiggle between Jesus and John. The disciples were human, with faults, weaknesses and strengths. Jesus was teaching them entirely different concepts from their previous religious training, and it had to be a challenge for everyone.
And then, for me, the kicker. Jesus was weak and fell down, and was physically unable to get up and keep going on his own. Someone else had to step in and help to carry His burden. Getting that cross to the top of the hill was His responsibility but he needed human, physical help to do it. And God sent the right help at the right time. But not before Jesus had reached the end of His endurance. Jesus truly knows how it feels to fall down and not be able to get up. To wonder, what do I do now? He doesn't just know the fear and humiliation of wondering what all these strangers are thinking of me... He was being jeered at and spit on, and KNEW what each of them was thinking. He had to humble himself to accept help. Jesus understands things about my specific challenges that I never realized he could or would. This weak moment of Jesus occurred at the pinnacle of His greatest service to mankind. Even while laying helpless on the ground he was serving man in the greatest way imaginable. I can put aside my fear, my humiliation, my confusion and self-doubts and continue to serve. As a christian. As a church member. In many ways I have not thought of before. I can no longer work in a critical care unit, or care for babies all day long. But with a little planning and trusting in God, a friend has figured out how I can hold and cuddle her baby without worrying that I will drop her or hurt her in any way. This was such a tremendous gift to me. I truly believed that caring for infants was my god given gift, and my joy, and to leave that job was devastating. God is showing me little by little His wonderful plan in my life. Just as Jesus had to get past the weakness and move forward with help to fulfill Gods wonderful plan for His life.
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