Divine Humanity

Read: Luke 6:12-13

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” - 2 Peter 1:3  

When Jesus heard that Herod killed John the Baptist, He withdrew privately by boat to a solitary place. He needed time to be alone in order to grieve the loss of His cousin (Matthew 14:13). He knew that He too would soon die, and He needed time to put this all into perspective and to fully embrace God’s will for Him. This amazingly human reaction makes it so clear that Jesus was not just some superpower with extra-human strength. Although He is divine, He learned obedience through the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). In fact, He suffered in all points, just like we do (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15).

The crowds followed Jesus as He tried to get away, and they did not give Him much time for grieving, reflection and contemplation. Soon, about five thousand men, besides women and children gathered around Him, hoping He would perform a miracle for them (Matthew 14:21). As the day progressed, the apostles wanted to send the people away, telling Jesus that it was time for them to eat.

Jesus shocked the apostles, though. He told them to feed the people! After searching through the crowd, the only food the apostles found was five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:17). They brought the inadequate offering to Jesus and complained. What they saw as deficient, however, Jesus saw as the Father’s provision. He took the meager meal, prayed over it and fed the multitude with plenty of food left over!

 

Trying to get time alone once more, Jesus sent the apostles across the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain alone to pray (Mark 6:46). Again, He was called away from his quiet vigil. It grew dark and His apostles were in a boat. The waves crashed around them and swamped their boat. They feared for their lives. Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. At first they assumed He was a ghost, and they cried out in anguish (Matthew 6:26).

Peter suddenly realized it was Jesus and asked our Savior to allow him to walk out on the water. Jesus told Peter to come (Matthew 14:28-29). After a few short steps, Peter realized where he was! His natural mind took over and fear got the best of him as he looked at the churlish sea and monstrous waves. He started to sink and cried out to Jesus for help. Jesus reached out and took his hand and walked with him back to the boat. At first Peter believed, but then Jesus had to help his unbelief (Mark 9:24).

We are like this too. We want to believe God and we step out in faith to accomplish some great feat for God. We are doing all right until we look at the circumstances around us. Then our soul starts to sink. Faith is the assurance that what we hope for will come to pass (Hebrews 11:1). We may experience overwhelming factors in our life with finances, relationships, emotional or mental turmoil, or what to do with our ministry for the Lord. However, no matter what is churning up the sea of our life, we can always look to Jesus to reach out His hand and guide us through.

Jesus used solitude to get closer to His Father. He recharged His spiritual batteries by drawing away by Himself (Matthew 14:23). From the very beginning of His ministry he used time alone to grow spiritually (Matthew 4:1-2). He sought a time of isolation just before He chose His apostles, getting away to unite with His Father before this monumental task (Luke 6: 12-13). He also sought solitude one last time before facing His crucifixion and death (Matthew 26:36).

There is value in following Jesus’ example here. In the hectic pace of our world, we often forfeit tranquil times of peace and quiet. We rush around getting everything accomplished on our to-do list. We have the noise of family and friends all around and on the phone. As we take time away in solitude like Jesus did and seek God’s direction, He will certainly give us the wisdom we need (James 1:5). He will direct our steps as we commit them to Him (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

Jesus’ divine nature in us gives us everything we need to live a godly life. When we come to faith in Christ, He allows us to share in His divine nature. Through Him we are empowered to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. This divine nature increases in us and makes us effective and productive as we live our life through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ who dwells within us. (2 Peter 1:3-8; Galatians 2:20).

Prayer:

Father God, to everything in our life there is a season. Help us to see Your purpose in our life as we: rejoice during times of birth, and grieve over the death of a loved one; plant in the springtime and reap in the harvest; take up our cross daily and pray for others to heal; break down the walls of fleshly resistance in our soul and take time to build up our spiritual life; weep with those who mourn and laugh with those who dance; renew our heart of stone into a heart of flesh; embrace our family and loved ones and erect boundaries between us and those who distress us; reap the harvest of what we sow and recover from times of loss; learn when to keep silent and when to speak; love the sinner and hate their sin; crucify our flesh at the same time we embrace Your peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus’ holiness within us makes us less human and more divine.