Read Hebrews 2:17-18
A few years ago, I participated in a two-year discipleship journey at the Soul Care Institute. It was a deeply transformative experience for me where I feel like I really learned how to be a human. That might sound strange, but that’s really what it was for me! I felt like for the first time in my life, I was in a safe space where I could be a whole person: my mind, body, and soul all integrated and pointed towards Christ.
At our first retreat, we were challenged to rethink how we view ourselves. Sometimes, as Christians, we can become so focused on our inner self (soul/spirit) that we neglect our physical self (body). But we were challenged to think of our body as not something separate from our “self” but as the address of our soul. The body is where we work out our faith and it is deeply spiritual and important to God. We don’t just think or contemplate our way through life, we actually have to live it out with our habits, postures, disciplines, and movements in the real world.
Today’s reading tells us that Jesus was “fully human in every way” (v. 17). This is a powerful statement to say about Jesus Christ: God-in-flesh-form. It means Jesus experienced every thing that you and I experience in our bodies. He ate (Matthew 4:2), slept (Luke 8:23), bled (John 19:34), sweat (Luke 22:42-44), used the bathroom, etc. He also experienced emotions! He felt joy (John 15:11), sorrow (Matthew 26:37), anger (Mark 3:5), and more.
Now, not all of our bodies are the same. I have an autoimmune disease, my dad is an amputee, my best friend has bipolar disorder, my sister deals with anxiety, and don’t even get me started on what it’s like to have an aging body! But the point is that our bodies, broken as they may be, are the addresses of our souls. They are the place where God is inviting us to live out our salvation with fear and trembling. And Jesus’ body is where He stepped into our physical world to not only show us how to live, feel, cry, emote, and navigate the world…but to provide us with a salvation we do not deserve. Without a body of flesh and blood, Christ could not die for you and me.
Today, as we begin this Lenten journey, thank God for the incarnation—that the Son of God came in a body to not only show us how to live as fully human, but also to save our souls.
For Reflection:
- Reflect on 3-4 stories of Jesus, noting His humanity and how His responses would compare to yours.
By Liz Carver
Family Talk: Ash Wednesday
The Tears of Jesus
Object Lesson: Feeling Faces Chart or Emojis
- Young children: Point to different faces above or show a few emojis on your phone. Have kids identify the feeling that each shows. Have them mimic the emotion shown with their own facial expressions.
- Older kids: Make this into a game by giving your kids a more descriptive emotion and having them draw an emoji for it. Use words like: worried, compassionate, hurt, positive, irritated, confident. Ask them things like: “Tell me about a time when you felt confident. When have you felt irritated?”
Say
Feelings, like excitement, confusion, or sadness—all show up on our faces. But our feelings also come out in our words and in our actions, too. Feeling all of these emotions is a part of what it means to be human; it’s how we’re set apart from the rest of God’s creation. God feels emotions, too, and we see this as we learn about Jesus.
Read
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death . . . it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. (Hebrews 2:14, 17-18, NLT)
Connect
Think of everything you know about the life of Jesus! He was born into a human family, with Mary and Joseph as His earthly parents. He grew up in Nazareth, obeyed His parents, learned how to be a carpenter. He made friends, went to dinners and weddings, taught about His Father, did miracles, and in time, went to the Cross. Jesus lived a full life! He experienced many of the same feelings we do, but His feelings did not come about because of sin like greed, selfishness, or rebellion. Even when Jesus had “big” feelings, he chose to obey His Father; He did not sin. Jesus was fully human, but He was also fully God. That’s amazing, but also . . . confusing! In some ways, Jesus was just like us, but in other ways, He was totally unlike us—this is what we’ll be learning about all throughout the season of Lent.
Family Storytelling:
- Parents: Share about a time when you chose to remain faithful, even when you had strong feelings.
- Kids: What is your favorite story about Jesus? What is it about this story that makes you feel closer to Jesus, or that you just understand Him better?