Philippians 2

^7 …but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Hebrews 2

¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Alas, even when we focus as best we can; we drift! We touched on this malady yesterday. Drifting on insignificant things is a “so-what.” Drifting on serious things can dilute our devotion to our Lord and rob us of that with which He desires to bless us.

We understand from Philippians that Jesus emptied Himself of some of His “God-stuff” so He could go beyond identifying with us, His creation, but to be us—as a human; think of this! He left the glories of heaven to fill Himself with some of our “Human-stuff;” that is, share a meal, joke, teach, love, feel pain (both physical and mental), experience social and religious ostracism, and deal with frustrations.

The writer of Hebrews adds to this amazing truth by stating Jesus, the founder of our salvation, was made perfect through suffering! How can someone perfect be made perfect? Perfect here reflects “fulfilled” or “completed.” Our Lord was not a philosophical leader sitting above the masses proclaiming truisms to His followers. Our Lord Jesus lived our life of disappointment, hunger, thirst, and betrayal—the list goes on. Why? Because He is truly God (who was, and is, and is to come) and truly human. As the only God/Man, Jesus was able to be the perfect sacrifice to offer atonement for our sins.

We can give our frustrations and failures to our understanding Lord, who is saying to us, “I know how you feel, I’ve been there.” Taking our eyes off of Jesus, drifting in a direction we should not, is a human frailty. The Spirit can redirect our course when we set our sails to catch His Wind!

Author: Richard Lawson

Other Lenten readings for today:

• Psalm 31:9-16
• Isaiah 54:9-10