Physician, Heal Thyself – #103

Part 2 – The Humanity of Man

The knowledge about our humanity is not to make us feel good about our sins and failures and stay in them. It is to help us understand our condition so we can appreciate better the mercy and compassion God shows us every day.

I think Jesus was quite surprised when He entered into the frame of man. Although He is God, there were things He could not conquer as a man. He wept like all men (John 11:35), got angry (Mark 3:5) like all men, got tired and slept like all men (Mark 4:38), and got frustrated at times like all men. He even visited the “White House” like every human, bathed like every man, and I dare say He even fell sick at one point or another, and Mary had to run to the nearest hospital with Him. The only thing He was exempted from was sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Scripture says the Lord is compassionate, slow to anger, but when Jesus, the man, saw people in the temple buying and selling, He wasn’t slow to anger. He could have followed due process and reported to the Roman Police Station, but He took the law into His own hands, made a whip out of a cord, and drove them out (Mark 11:15-19). Getting angry is human; that’s why God Himself made provision for it and advised,

“You get angry, but don’t let your anger lead you to sin” (Ephesians 4:26), and “Don’t allow the sun to set on your anger.”

The man Jesus was hungry (Mark 11:12-14) and came to a fig tree. Not finding food, He cursed the tree. He wasn’t patient enough to give the tree another chance. In His hunger, He cursed the tree. On a lighter note, a lawyer friend told me that was an abuse of power. The humanity of Jesus could have been hidden, but it wasn’t; it’s right there in scripture to teach us about God’s excellence as God and the frailty of our own humanity as men and women.

When Prophet John the Baptist was locked up in prison (Matthew 11:2), his prophetic fire took a backstage, and his humanity surfaced with doubt. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one to come. Meanwhile, this was the same person who pointed out the Lamb of God last Sunday. Listen up! When the grace of God comes upon men and women, it has a way of presenting them to look like God and not men (Exodus 34:35). And this is where the problem is – the temporal erosion of their humanity, as seen by observers because they are under God’s Grace. When you see or listen to a person under grace, you see God personified. He doesn’t look like a man anymore… and that’s where you can easily forget the basics, namely, He or She is still human.

So, although they may look like God, do not be surprised if one day, while you are still observing them, their humanity takes over, and you ask, “Oh, Rev. Fr., CEO, Prophet, Policeman, Nurse, etc., you can also get angry like this?” You can also drink like this? You can also do this-do that? Elijah, I call him the strange man; scripture doesn’t tell us where he was schooled or who mentored him. The guy just appeared on the scene from Tishbe in Gilead (1 Kings 17:1). He was a man of power, miracles, and influence; he could turn cities upside down. If you joked with the God-Elijah movement, fire (1 Kings 18:38) would consume you straight up from heaven. It got to a point where his humanity took over; the powerful prophet fled in fear (1 Kings 19:3) from a woman (Jezebel). Can you imagine a powerful prophet running for his life, ” sake of a woman,” and to even make issues interesting, he prayed a suicidal prayer later on… Elijah sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said,

Enough is enough; I’m tired, take my life, Lord, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died – (1 Kings 19:4).

Abraham, the great patriarch of faith, a man that God would come down to ask permission from (Genesis 18:17-33) before destroying cities – when his humanity showed up, he lied at least once (Genesis 20:1) about Sarah being his sister, and he looked at Hagar. Yes, he looked at Hagar. I don’t buy the idea that Abraham didn’t have a choice and was coerced into sleeping with Hagar by his wife. He could have said no to his wife’s proposal. He was already attracted her, so when his wife proposed the idea he didn’t resist. Humanity at play. You have no idea what you are capable of until you fall into temptation and your humanity shows up.

Prophet Moses, one of the greatest leaders in history, who encountered God for 40 days, that is one month of uninterrupted worship before the King of Kings, yet right after that powerful experience, when his humanity showed up he got angry and broke the same commandments he was to teach his people… Meanwhile this same Moses, earlier on pleaded with God not to destroy the people of Israel for the golden calf incident. But when his humanity surfaced he lost control of anger. (Exodus 32:1-21). I would encourage you to take a walk with the Israelites right after their deliverance from the Egyptians to their promise land. You will be amazed at what human nature is capable of…

What about David? He feared God so much – that on two occasions when he had the opportunity to kill Saul he refused (1Samuel 24:7 & 26:25) and said I won’t touch God’s anointed, yet this same man, when his humanity showed up, killed (1Samuel 11:14), another man (Uriah) without thinking twice and even coveted his wife in addition. Yet, God almighty says this is a man after his own heart. … (Acts 13:22)

Until we understand this principle of our humanity we will continue to tear each other apart. We are treasures hosted in earthen vessels, so we have a light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God and not from ourselves. (2Corinthians 4:7). The above should keep each and every one of us humble and compassionate towards one another.

With all apologies, the first major problem is with us men and women of God – we have created all kinds of environments and sermons to numb away our humanity and give our membership an impression…

Shalom and God bless you

#PhysicianHealThyself ~ WATCH OUT FOR THE FORTH EDITION!