August 21, 2014 | What I Know of Jesus

“Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:24-25 NASB)
 

Christ-like community

A friend was recently struggling with Christian community. Such is a regular occurrence this side of heaven, but painful nonetheless. Since Ephesians 4 connects our sanctification into Christlikeness with our redeemed community, I challenged my friend to spend some time thinking about Jesus the person and see if that led to any direction for her.

She did so, and the result is so stirring and useful that I gained permission to share it with you.

The results of her study:

I think I have to set aside the fact that he is God for a moment.Here’s some of what I know about Jesus the man…

  • He was very private. His ways were not known to everyone (perhaps because he was God).
  • He was a man of sorrow.
  • He cared for those around him – all of those around him, not just his buddies.
  • He had a limited circle of people he was intimate with (not in a gross way).
  • He had a smaller inner circle of friends.
  • Most of the world disregarded, if not flat-out hated him.
  • He practiced times away from his friends.
  • His family thought he was nuts.
  • He told great stories.
  • He liked a good party – to eat and drink and sit around telling stories.
  • He was a precocious kid (again being God in a kid’s body must have been tough).
  • He asked his friends to pray with him through the hard stuff.
  • He didn’t hide from the hard stuff.
  • He liked kids and took time to play with them.

If Jesus is the ultimate example of what it is to be a human – living and sharing life with others – then he teaches us that…

  • Our inner-most thoughts probably are not meant to be broadcast. They are meant to be ½ of an intimate conversation with God.
  • Our circle of friends – real, walk with me to the cross kind of friends – is limited to a handful of people and those perhaps relegated to a specific time in our lives. That is, they might be different people when we are kids and when we are adults, before and after significant events.
  • It is unrealistic to think that the whole world is going to love you. Even those closest to you will fall away from time to time. You will be the weirdo, the odd man out, the nut job in someone’s eyes. That is okay. God made you to be you, not a copy of them.
  • We should enjoy the people we are with while we are with them. We should engage with all of the kids, friends, family, outcasts, etc. Food and stories rock!
  • We should face the hard stuff with help from close friends and God, and that probably is best without tweeting, blogging, and face-booking it to the whole world.
  • Loneliness is okay. Maybe it is an indication that God is ringing your door bell. Turning to Him to sooth your heart is a better cure than turning to the masses.
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