#SoRelatable

Posted on August 24, 2018 by America's Keswick in Victory Call

Some months ago, I traveled with my family to Lancaster to see Sight and Sound’s production of JESUS. If you haven’t gone yet… you definitely should go, go, GO!

One thing I LOVED about the show is how they portrayed the character of Jesus – He was both so divine and also so human. I think that often people see Jesus as he’s portrayed in pictures… solemn, emotionless, and almost distant. I don’t know about you, but a person like that would be hard for me to relate to.

But Jesus wasn’t like that at all – not in the production at Sight & Sound, and definitely not in real life. After all, he was fully God and fully human. That means he experienced the same emotions we do.

He was JOYFUL! In John 15:11 and John 17:13, for example, Jesus says that His desire is that HIS joy may be complete in His followers (paraphrased.) He already had that joy, and He wanted it spread. Jesus spent time with children, and children were drawn to Him. What kind of child wants to be near someone who is only serious and somber (GotQuestions.org)? He called His disciples his friends. I know that when I’m with my friends, I experience SUCH joy. While there’s no verse in the bible that explicitly states “Jesus laughed” I believe that the very character of Jesus proves that he loved laughter.

He GRIEVED. Unfortunately, we have and will experience grief in this world… but so did Jesus. He grieved when Lazarus died (John 11:35), He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), and He was filled with sorrow over His impending death (Matthew 26:39). Isn’t it wonderful that in our times of greatest sorrow, we can still relate to Jesus Christ?

He got ANGRY. Anger isn’t our favorite emotion; it’s not one we like to talk about. But we can’t deny that we do experience it. Like us, Jesus experienced anger – when He got angry, it was always righteous anger. He was angry at the temple over the fact that His house of prayer was becoming a “den of thieves”, He got frustrated at the Pharisees for testing Him by asking Him for a sign (Mark 8:12), He experienced displeasure towards His disciples for being and ‘unbelieving and perverse generation’ (Matthew 17:17). It’s wonderful that we can be comforted by the fact that Jesus understands frustration.

He was TEMPTED. As a child, this was difficult for me to grasp. How could a God who was perfect and sinless be tempted? I thought that couldn’t be true, and that was partly because as a young child, I saw Him as so solemn and emotionless. But we all know the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. Furthermore, we know that He was tempted in every way common to man, and because of that, we know that He is also SYMPATHETIC (Hebrews 4:15). To me, it’s comforting to know that He was tempted in all the ways I am and He doesn’t condemn me for it (Romans 8:1).

I love that our God is an intimate and relatable God. He came down to earth and experienced EVERYTHING that we have experienced. Other religions worship a false god that is distant and inapproachable. We worship the most sympathetic, approachable, loveable God ever!! He’s so great.

Erin Culleny serves as a Marketing Assistant and Staff Writer. She loves encouraging women through her Victory Calls and finds such joy in praying for her sisters in Christ. Her favorite activities include reading her Bible, encouraging others with scripture, buying new makeup, buying dresses, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory… In that order!

The Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 51-52| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “Christ literally walked in our shoes” – Jim Keller

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. ~Proverbs 23:18