Error
Jesus became like us, so we could become like him. This is the promise of the Incarnation. “Incarnation” is a word theologians use to describe what happened when God became human. We celebrate the Incarnation every Christmas, believing that Jesus is the human who God became, born as a baby just like us, growing up just like us, living like one of us, and dying like one of us.
When he stepped into our world, when the Incarnation happened, Jesus wasn’t simply intervening for us—he was identifying with us. The Bible says he was made like us in every way. That means experiencing family and friendships, telling jokes and playing games, working hard and experiencing pain. Jesus became like us in every way, so we could become like him. In this series, we will dive into six ways Jesus became like us, and how we can become more like him.
In the face of our insecurity, Jesus became like us, so we could have a clear purpose. It’s so easy for life to squeeze us into inhuman shapes. Like deformed puzzle pieces, we no longer know where we fit. But Jesus shows us what real life is like, reminds us what we were made for, and helps us see where to go. In the face of Jesus, we remember who we are.
In the face of our exhaustion, Jesus became like us, so we could step off the treadmill of comparison and rest on his grace. We can wear ourselves out physically, emotionally, and spiritually climbing today’s ladder of success, only to wake up tomorrow to find the ladder has changed. Jesus invites us to leave the ladders behind and enjoy the unforced rhythms of his grace.
In the face of our anxiety, Jesus became like us, so we could live confidently, trusting in God’s care for us. Where worry can dominate our lives and steal from our future, Jesus frees us to explore our lives, enjoy our relationships, and discover the good things God has planned for us. When we live with Jesus, we find that we have all the time in the world.
In the face of our guilt, Jesus became like us, so we could face our accusers together and he could take our side without proclaiming our innocence or ignoring our guilt. Rather he knows our hearts completely and chooses love instead of condemnation. In the face of Jesus, we find that we are fully known and fully loved.
In the face of our grief, Jesus became like us, so we could no longer be bullied by death. When faced with grief, Jesus didn’t dismiss our emotions with hollow reassurances. Instead, he wept. His tears flowed with ours, reminding us that God doesn’t expect us to stifle our sorrow. In the face of our grief, Jesus offers us comfort: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 New International Version/NIV)
In the face of our dissatisfaction, Jesus became like us, so we could see how God cares for us. Jesus points us again and again to the God who gives. He reminds us over and over that God knows everything we need. Jesus proves to us once and for all that when we put our life in God’s hands, he will give us more life than we ever dreamed.
Jesus became like us in all these ways, and in each of them showed us how we could become more like him. But…why would we want to become like Jesus?
Jesus is more famous not for the life he lived, but for the death he died. And more than that, for being raised to life again. Jesus’ resurrection proved that his power is more than human power. It proves that the path he took is a path worth taking.
It takes faith in Jesus to follow that path. It requires trust in God to be willing to invest our lives learning to become like Jesus in these very human ways. We become like him in these smaller ways, so that we might become like him in bigger ways— in his death and then, finally, in his resurrection (Philippians 3:10-11).
We follow him in life. We follow him in death. We can follow him in resurrection.
As you engage in the He Gets Us experience, remember that Jesus’ words and actions are backed up by Jesus’ own resurrection. It’s on that basis that anything else he said is worth examining. It’s on that basis that everything else he did is worth imitating.