We are continuing our comparison between Jesus and humans.
Jesus | Human |
Forgiving |
Struggle to forgive, choosing to hang on to the hurt longer than we should |
Did Jesus wait until people had there act together before He forgave them of their sin? No He didn’t. In some cases, He forgave them when they weren’t expecting it (Matthew 9:2, John 18:11, John 5:14). Jesus knows what we need, even when we don’t. Forgiveness of sins sets us free to become who God intended us to be. Jesus seemed to forgive quite easily. Imagine hanging on a cross, nails driven into your flesh and calling out to God “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). How about us? How easily do we forgive? We are never asked to forgive more than we our self have been forgiven (Luke 6:37).
Jesus | Human |
Unconditional Love |
Love when it goes our way (I’ll love you if you do this or that) |
God so loved the world He willingly sacrificed His Son to pay for our sins (John 3:16). He did it, while we could care less about Him. Now that’s unconditional love: doing for another with no expectation of getting anything in return. Oh how hard it is for us to love like that. We tend to think along the lines of “I’ll love you as long as you met my needs.”
Jesus | Human |
Secure with who He was and where He came from |
Insecure, doubting and fearful |
Jesus was secure with Himself. He was confident in who He was. There was no doubt about what He came to do (John 13:3). Insecurity in us is caused by our refusal to follow God’s perfect plan. When we rebel against God we open our self up to the tricks of our enemy. Satan’s main weapon is doubt and fear. Our slowness to accept what God has for us causes us to doubt our purpose, our identity and our meaning which robs God’s glory.
Jesus | Human |
Compassion for others |
Occasionally care for others when it’s convenient |
How many times does the Bible say Jesus looked on them with compassion? Matthew 9:36, Mark 1:41, Luke 10:33 are just a few examples. He had compassion many more times as well. The point is no matter how busy or tired Jesus was He always had compassion for others. He focused on the bigger picture—saving souls. How often are we compassionate towards others? We occasionally care for others, when it is convenient to our schedules. True compassion reaches out always.
Jesus | Human |
He is truth |
Struggle to be truthful, tell “little white lies” or fail to speak the truth in love |
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is truth, therefore He can not lie (Titus 1:2). The James 1:21 teaches “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If don’t practice the truth in our lives are deceiving our self. What is it to deceive but to lie to our self? We lie to our self when we don’t do what God calls us to. We lie to others when we choose not to speak the truth in love.
So why do this comparison? If was not to injury us, but to encourage us. These things cannot do be done without God’s grace and power. If we attempt to do all these things in our own strength we will fail. But Jesus hasn’t abandoned us; instead He fills us with His Spirit. It is His Essence in us with all power and might which carries out God’s desire through us. Jesus says follow Me. Are you willing?
Lord Jesus thank you for all you have done for us. Enable us to recognize your hand in our life. Teach us to depend on your might rather than our own efforts. Lead us in your way. In Jesus’ name Amen.
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