Jesus is Man...

My dog Kaiser is truly mans best friend. We bought him as a puppy when he was only six weeks old, however we had gotten to known the breeders pretty well and had visited him even before he was old enough for us to bring him home. Ally (my daughter) was just four years old at the time. With his eyes just opened, he was the only all black Dane in the litter, his floppy ears as big as his enormous paws. He was truly awkward and terribly clumsy (a foreshadow of the years to come). But even at that age he loved being close to us. We waited in anticipation of him weaning from his mother so that we could take him home. The early part of his life was trying, to say the least. We found that he is a very sensitive dog and actually experiences separation anxiety when we leave. But when he’s with us he finds comfort in being close. Over four years later and still his greatest comfort is his closeness to us. He spoons us during naps and at night, and takes every opportunity to be with his family. Giving us sad eyes when its time for him to get down off the bed. Not so much because he was comfortable, but because he couldn‘t be close to us. He races clumsily to the door at our arrival, even if I’ve only been gone 30 seconds. His excitement when we come through the door is so passionate its almost dangerous. Bucking and snorting like a bronco with a small stuffed animal present for us in his mouth, he wags his tail fanatically. He absolutely loves us. His loyalty far surpasses even ours for him. Ally nimbly ducks and dodges past his wet kisses quite often while playing a game of tag or fetch with a stuffed animal. It looks pretty funny when Kaiser outweighs the master (Ally) by 100 pounds. But they play so well together and usually end it with a hug and kiss by both of them. We almost lost him a few years ago to bloat which is a dangerous condition for dogs. The saddest thing was watching him wither away with those sad brown eyes staring at us, too sick to move most of the time. But we stuck with him through thick and thin regardless of the monetary cost. He’s worth every penny and is healthy as an ox now. Our family absolutely loves him. So your probably wondering why I’m telling you about one of my best friends of four years? Well, today at one in the afternoon we will be permanently surrendering him to an animal rescue, as we are unable to have multiple pets in our condo. We didn’t have the heart to tell my daughter until just yesterday evening. There is absolutely no way to describe in writing the sorrow and anguish I saw in her eyes as tears uncontrollably ran down her face. She instantly needed comforting. This is her first true loss of someone she loves so much. It literally broke my heart to watch her suffer, and I cried. I cried out of agonizing sadness for Ally and my wife. It is very difficult to watch those we love so much, suffer so badly. If you haven’t experienced this type of sorrow yet, you have not lived long enough.

As humans, there is something in sorrow that allows us to engage in it with others. There is an affectionate interaction we feel toward one another. We share in others sorrow, making it our own. And in compassion, we offer strength, and healing to those grieving, even in the midst of our own sorrow. It is our ability to knowingly and actively love, comfort and show empathy that makes us human.

But why all this? Why the long, sad story? Why the story about some stupid pet that you’ve never even met ? Why should you care about a 9 year old kids broken heart? Or her dad that loves her more than words could express? There are two words in the Bible that give authority to mans overwhelming sorrow filled experiences. These two words make up the shortest verse in scripture, however they speak the loudest about Christ as fully man. John 11:35, “Jesus wept.“ Just as you have wept, and I have wept, Jesus wept. He felt an overwhelming compassion for those He loved. Truly we can all relate to pain and misery, grief and tremendous suffering. So can Jesus, our Father who sees the sorrow and anguish in our hearts. Our Father, who loves us more than words could express. Jesus wept.

Originally I had prepared to give some deep theological thought to this post, commenting to “Jesus as man“. I however was not prepared for what God had in store for me with the news that the rescue could take my friend so much sooner than I expected. Then to see the pain my daughter was going through literally broke my heart, and it was then that I realized theology and study meant so little. Because the truth is “Jesus wept,“ And we instantly knew how each other felt…

The Word became flesh…

I’ve recently finished my own study of the Gospel of John. I’ve taken notes, read into and tore apart this amazing Gospel and emerged with one thing; “1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.“.

I knew before I started writing this that there was absolutely nothing I could put on paper or a flat screen monitor that could enhance or add to this Gospel. It speaks for itself in every way. It is only my responsibility to relay to you the truth it reveals. It would be impossible to tell how long it might have taken for the author to write the above scripture. But what’s amazing to me is its completeness. It was as if he could have stopped writing at that point, and well into the early morning, put down the beaten and well used wooden quill he wrote with, and wiped his exhausted eyes. Then after long moments of staring at the flickers of burnt orange that danced around the clay hardened room he sat in, would extinguish the lamp that gave off the subdued glow of the room and went to sleep. It would have been complete. But he did not. He continued, and probably spent countless nights doing the same. The Spirit was truly in this man who wrote to bring witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The authorship of the Gospel is uncertain, however there are many references that indicate that the authorship is truly that of the Disciple John, son of Zebedee. Some would dispute, I however weigh what I read and infer from the Gospel itself. In the Gospel it makes mention of the author in chapters 20-24 referring to the one “whom Jesus loved”, and also in union, (referring to the author) “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.” This is strong evidence that the author was in fact the same man who not only wrote, but witnessed the life of Jesus first hand. Keep in mind that this Gospel remains above all things a testament to Jesus Christ, and the exaltation of both Him and God.

In the following posts I will discuss five main points I took from the Gospel of John and have separated into topics, the first, Jesus is Man, secondly, Jesus is God, Third, Jesus is Love, fourth, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and lastly, Jesus is glorified.

Prefacing these points I want to say that you will find an overwhelming overtone regarding Christ as the exalted Son of God. Hopefully you will also come away with an understanding that Christ’s glorification is to be above all, of utmost importance in our lives, As we disappear, He will become known. We do not worship a weak god. A god that cannot sustain on his own, but relies on our existence for his happiness, acceptance and expression. A god who creates us to fulfill a void or ego problem in his life. Christianity has heard enough Dr. Phil sermons of a needy god whose “strength” is in his acceptance of our short comings. We worship a self sustaining God who’s glorification is not found in our acceptance of Him, but rather our love and obedience in Him. For what does God see in us to be proud of, sin? No works of our own will ever exalt God. It takes God to glorify Himself.