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More Than Man
When you’re hanging out with your school friends there’s usually a little competition involved. You’re always wondering if you’re wearing the right clothes, using the right words in the right way. You’re worried if you’re going to be invited to the next thing or start in the next game. Why is this? What is the insecurity that always seems to be lurking behind the scenes of our relationships, even our closest and/or most intimate ones? There is a nagging fear baked in all of our human interactions that we will not measure up, or for some of us, that others will fall short and let us down. This is evidence of the limitation of our fallen nature – it’s not how it was supposed to be.
In John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” he describes the relationship between Adam and Eve before they reach out and take the forbidden fruit. The dynamic of their relationship is uncom- fortably idyllic and is actually awkward to read. It’s worse than the sappy love relationships in an old cheesy soap opera (telenovela) or Lifetime movie. But his point is well made when, after they sin against God and things fall to ruin, their broken, sin-filled relationship feels much more familiar.
The insecurity we feel in relationships has to do with the fact of sin in our natural state. That’s why you’re always looking for signs that your friends are still your friends. That is why you’re always wondering if you still fit in and have to check back regularly and perform to make sure you’re accepted. That’s why when your friend group starts down a path you don’t want to follow them on, it’s so difficult to stay true to your convictions and let them go. Sin has lowered our standard of what makes up an acceptable friend, and we have dropped our standards for being a good friend too.
We are physical beings living in a physical world with natural desires, but that’s not all we are. We are also spiritual beings with souls and eternal needs that can only be satisfied in supernatural ways. Jesus is a different kind of friend. Philippians 2:6-7 says, “[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Jesus is not a friend like all our other friends because He’s more than just a man, Jesus is God. Jesus did not participate in the fall of humanity but has been working from eternity to set it right. When he came to earth and walked among us, His compassion was not tainted with failure, but was fueled by mercy. His intentions did not need to be questioned because He is not a man that He should lie. His promises always came to pass because He’s more than a man, He’s God.
When you’ve accepted Him as your Savior, you also get Him as your friend. This is good news because unlike all of your other friends, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and he will never leave you or forsake you. He’s more than a man, He’s God.
When you walk with Jesus, you can stand firm in your convictions, even if everyone else walks away, because His love is perfect. And when you walk with Jesus, you can trust his correction because he won’t just go along with your nonsense, He actually gave His life to make sure you can get free from it.
Natural friendships will always have flaws, because people are broken by sin, but Jesus was more than a natural man so you can expect His friendship with you to be “super” natural too. We need to refocus our lives to look higher than the natural, we need to be people who see with supernatural eyes that we might experience eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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The insecurity we feel in relationships has to do with the fact of sin in our natural state. That’s why you’re always looking for signs that your friends are still your friends. That is why you’re always wondering if you still fit in and have to check back regularly and perform to make sure you’re accepted. That’s why when your friend group starts down a path you don’t want to follow them on, it’s so difficult to stay true to your convictions and let them go. Sin has lowered our standard of what makes up an acceptable friend, and we have dropped our standards for being a good friend too.
We are physical beings living in a physical world with natural desires, but that’s not all we are. We are also spiritual beings with souls and eternal needs that can only be satisfied in supernatural ways. Jesus is a different kind of friend. Philippians 2:6-7 says, “[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Jesus is not a friend like all our other friends because He’s more than just a man, Jesus is God. Jesus did not participate in the fall of humanity but has been working from eternity to set it right. When he came to earth and walked among us, His compassion was not tainted with failure, but was fueled by mercy. His intentions did not need to be questioned because He is not a man that He should lie. His promises always came to pass because He’s more than a man, He’s God.
When you’ve accepted Him as your Savior, you also get Him as your friend. This is good news because unlike all of your other friends, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and he will never leave you or forsake you. He’s more than a man, He’s God.
When you walk with Jesus, you can stand firm in your convictions, even if everyone else walks away, because His love is perfect. And when you walk with Jesus, you can trust his correction because he won’t just go along with your nonsense, He actually gave His life to make sure you can get free from it.
Natural friendships will always have flaws, because people are broken by sin, but Jesus was more than a natural man so you can expect His friendship with you to be “super” natural too. We need to refocus our lives to look higher than the natural, we need to be people who see with supernatural eyes that we might experience eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.