When you read the stories of the “giants” of the Bible like Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, or Paul, we see recorded for all of time the details of some amazing victories and some massive failures. While I wouldn’t want my mistakes and downright blatant sins discussed in Bible study groups across the world, I am thankful that God has given them to us.
In the latest ladies’ study, the author, Lysa Terkeurst, made a statement, “the humanity of the Bible matters”. That phrase has stuck with me for weeks now and I have come to realize what a precious gift those stories are to me. They show what God can do through those imperfect vessels and even in those less than stellar moments God wanted us to see how He still used them, redeemed their stories, and accomplished His will.
I relate to so many “human” moments in the Bible. Surely, I am not the only one who has had moments of frustration with people like Moses, sulking like Jonah when things go unpunished, or complaining about ridiculous things like the entire nation of Israel. These stories are lessons for us to learn how to react to things and sometimes even more important… how NOT to react to things. One of the most beautiful moments is reading about Peter and how Jesus restored him after denying the One he claimed he would never leave. These stories let me know that I am going to mess up and get it wrong but that will not be the end of my story or what defines me.
But there is one in scripture where the humanity displayed outweighs them all. His name is Jesus. God’s word tells us that “the Word was made flesh and walked among us” (John 1:14). It is one thing for Jesus to take on a human form but in a mystery that I don’t understand, He put on humanity and yet remained fully God at the same time.
The humanity of Christ is recorded throughout the Gospels. We see Jesus tired, hungry, angry, sad, thirsty, crying, in anguish, and in physical pain. God’s word describes two gut-wrenching scenes, the first is Jesus asking God to remove the cup from Him in the garden of Gethsemane. The second is when the very Son of God cries out to His Father while hanging on the cross, “Why have You forsaken me?”
I have experienced those kinds of emotions, crying out to God to remove situations and circumstances because I don’t know how I will get through them. I have even asked where God was in the middle of the chaos and storms. The uncomplicated answer to all my questions is Jesus. I have a Savior who understands and knows how to intercede for me because He knows what it was like to be human.
God’s word tells us in Hebrews 4:15-16, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Don’t miss the humanity in the Bible or the significance it can make in your walk with the Lord.
Melodie