Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing, especially when I strongly feel like doing something that’s not the right thing. To be specific, I feel like asking this beautiful girl who happens to also like me (do you realize what the chances of a beautiful girl actually liking me are?) out for some dinner or someother type of date, when in fact I know for various reasons that I really wouldn’t be able to take this farther than a date or two. But I’m going to resist and instead just type out this entry on how we can draw upon Jesus’s humanity for strength.
The amazing thing about Jesus is that He came to this earth as God in man – born as a baby. We’ve tried to make sense of this, but it has historically resulted in us making Him either less than God or not human, resulting in something like the Arian heresy. Remember; heresy is bad – orthodoxy, good! When we take the humanity out of Jesus, so goes the power. Jesus being fully man helps Him help us. Hebrews 2:16-18 reads, “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
This is the mysterious part of Jesus – for whatever reasons, even God couldn’t escape the need to come to earth as a man and “walk in our shoes” and become a more complete and perfect High Priest. And by High Priest, I mean helper. That just doesn’t make sense – God had to become more complete, more perfect, but it is true. So even God fully subscribed and lived out the truth that you can’t lead people to places you haven’t been.
And as I think about the fact that Jesus was tempted in every way just as I am (Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15) I feel my heart filled with His power and grace to walk away from temptation and honor God by doing what’s best for myself and the person or people affected by my actions. For Hebrews 4:15-16 reads, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot 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.” The choice to do the right thing in all circumstances is mine and the power and grace to actually follow through on that is also mine by reaching out to Jesus for it, who currently is at the right hand of the Father. And He can only provide it because He was in the same boat that I am two thousand years ago as a 20something year-old guy with plenty of beautiful women around him. And He overcame just like He wants to help me overcome. Amen.
