It's easy for us all to forget that Jesus Christ was once an adolescent. But just saying so raises huge questions immediately: What kind of adolescent? Was He really human? Did He have hormones? Was He really male? Was He an adolescent wimp? Did He let the kids walk all over Him? Did He even associate with other kids or was He the Supreme Home-Schooler? Did He dare venture outdoors? Was He the village Fun-Killer?
The problem all of us have difficulty with is understanding how the Son of God could be fully human as well as divine. All through the history of the past two millennia the idea has prevailed that Jesus was "exempt" from inheriting our normal human DNA; He must be separated from involvement in our fallible, sinful humanity. Temptation for Him must be non-temptation; He must not be a truly human Teenager who understands fully how the other kids feel. He must be as unrelated to them as the eagle soaring in the alpine currents is "above" the feelings of the chickens who can't get off the ground. To adolescents in today's world, Jesus is the sickly looking, pious monkish Figure in the stained glass windows of the cathedral. He's the adolescent so "different" that you just can't relate to Him, and you would never bother to speak to Him at school; you'd look the other way.
And if He were to speak to you, it would be in obsolete, monotone Elizabethan English with hollow phrases like "thee's" and "thou's."
In contrast, the Bible presents Jesus the Adolescent as 100 percent human as well as totally divine, "in all points tempted LIKE AS [not unlike] we are tempted"--we adolescents! Complete with the problem of what to do with self, for He tells us that He has a self as we have a "self." He has a will of His own just as every adolescent has a will of his/her own. He is as fully tempted to be selfish as is any Queen Bee in the adolescent hierarchy. (Take a look at John 5:30; 6:38; Matt. 26:39; Luke 9:23; Rom. 15:3.) But He chooses NOT to give in to self. Look and wonder the rest of your life: He chooses to deny self! Most of the kids would consider Him a Fool, for the path He chooses will lead Him straight to a cross. And there He will die so we can be free to go on being selfish and mean if we want to be. Or, repent.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 16, 2002.Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.Facebook Users, please click below on "View original post".
