To see Jesus going camping and singing with children, having the Sabbath in many people’s houses with sinners, and taking the time to walk his mother to a different town in the TV series The Chosen, was enlightening. We see Jesus as fully man from a fresh perspective of everyday living. We see his personality and loving grace, which was very comforting.
What is Your View of Jesus?
I grew up hearing stories about Jesus and seeing flannel pictures of him in my Sunday school class. As an adult, I’ve studied the Bible and his life. However, the Bible leaves out so much of his ordinary everyday life. Without this insight, it’s too easy only to see Jesus as a perfect person and miracle worker. In this mindset, you will miss the whole reason Jesus came to earth, to live and experience being human.
By the time Jesus was thirty, he had set out to fulfill the mission of his Father, God, in heaven. Although we can see the love and grace of Jesus from God’s word, we miss the quirks, personality, and everyday realities he faced as he interacted with people. In The Chosen series, we see a representation of Jesus in the flesh. We see him continually showing equal compassion and value to every person he meets. He’s not caught up in how they look, their status, or their performance. He sees each person as God’s creation struggling to find His truth.
The Human Reality of Responsibility is Seen in Jesus
When you study Christ’s life, you can see how responsibility was a foundational aspect. He cared for his mother, especially being the oldest son. Jesus cared for his Father, God, and spent time with Him so that he could carry out the responsibilities placed on him. Jesus also took responsibility for caring for and teaching his disciples and feeding the crowds following him on several occasions.
It took me forty-eight years to understand how much responsibility is a foundational block of faith. It’s too easy in my sinful flesh to pass the buck, ignore the need, or make an excuse if my responsibility is inconvenient or difficult. However, when you look at the life of Jesus, he stayed close to his Father to know what to do, and then he obeyed. Jesus gave us his greatest gift when he took responsibility for all of humanity’s sins on Himself and paid for them with his life. As Christ’s disciples, we owe Jesus our love, obedience, and being responsible as we honor him with our life. Jesus warns us.
“The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! (Luke 12:47-48, MSG)
Trusting Jesus When We Don’t Understand
I didn’t have people I could trust consistently for most of my early life. As hard as this was to deal with, I now realize that not trusting people helped me trust God more. Building my trust in him over people and circumstances empowered me to believe that God’s bigger plan is better than anything I can imagine, no matter what he allowed in my life.
All I have to do is remember Jesus on the cross and walking out of the tomb to know that I can trust God no matter what I see, feel, or think. The aspect of trust saturates my faith and allows me to look for the silver lining in all circumstances. I choose to trust Him over people because I know He is faithful and in control.
I have unknowingly made choices that have brought painful circumstances into my life, as we all do. However, everything I have been through has helped me grow a deep intimate relationship with Jesus and God. All the lessons and revelations I have learned have also helped me help others, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Jesus is right. It will be hard, challenging, and might be deadly when you follow him. However, we must also take the time to celebrate the joy, beauty, and love we have with other believers. Focusing only on pain leaves us living with Jesus hanging on the cross. We must remember that Jesus rose from the dead, and that same power is living in us.
Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect because we can’t be. Just as the disciples were an eclectic mix of characters, skills, and hearts, all of God’s children are the same. Jesus has a place for every one of us, and all we have to do is follow him to the best of our abilities with a sincere heart in our imperfect human condition. Let us honor and serve Jesus every day by living a life that mirrors his attitude, words, and actions. Let us be the Jesus of love, kindness, and grace that other people experience today!
