A Human for All Humanity?

I started reading another book recently, called Exiles. One of the points the author makes is that so much of pop Christian culture puts Christ on a pedestal. Instead of earnestly waiting on the Lord and seeing the humanity in the human (let us not forget that Christ is fully God AND fully human), we see an object of worship. The God of the universe, of Adam and Eve, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of Peter, Paul and Mary - this same God is human. Would you know that from most of the Christian pop music? We sing that "God is bigger than the air I breathe," He's "my Glorious," "God of wonders beyond our galaxy." Such an immensely awesome and powerful God does not sound like a real being, much less like someone to whom I could intimately relate. But He is.

The writers of the New Testament wrote about a righteous, just, loving God who was incarnate - not like some hero of mythology - but who was fully human and fully God. He experienced joy and friendship, struggle and disappointment. He knew rejection; his best friends fled and denied knowing him when he was unjustly arrested. He performed miracles, and there were many people still alive when parts of the New Testament were written who experienced those very events that were recorded. Jesus Christ is a real person; he walked the earth like the rest of us. But that's not all He is.

Let's take a different perspective for a moment. Think of all the evil that humankind has committed. Numerous genocides, rape, war, beatings, murder, abortions, adultery and slavery are not only part of our collective history, they are all ongoing. What about stealing, lying, lusting, greed and pride? We build weapons for maximum destruction, maximum casualties. We release chemicals and germs to harm people to get our point across. We torture to get information to save lives. Every day millions of lives throughout the world are hurt by other humans. What would it take for a righteous and holy God to love such a broken humanity? What would it take to bring humanity back into a right relationship with its Creator? One man, even a perfect man, seems like a small offering for all that evil.

Jesus Christ did live a perfect life, was crucified, did die, was resurrected and lives forevermore. In Him is our hope for life, for salvation. He wasn't just a man, but He was fully human. Jesus knows temptation. He knows loneliness. He knows what it's like to feel lost and abandoned. He talked to other people, ate with them, laughed and cried with them. God isn't some idol, whether literal or figurative. He doesn't just want to be worshiped and obeyed. He wants a relationship with every person. He desires our faith, our belief, our resources and our energy. He wants to share with us as well. He wants the relationship. He wants access to your heart, to my heart. It's too easy to write off Jesus as being far beyond our comprehension. It's time to relate to the risen Christ, to learn from Him. Fully God, fully man - Jesus Christ came for all humanity.