Day 1: Becoming Human
Growing up, I was pretty hard on myself. Anytime I would fail, say the wrong thing, sin, or “fail” in any way, I would beat myself up. As I got older, and especially while I was a student at Northwest University, I often heard a phrase like, “It’s okay to mess up, you’re just human.” Have you ever heard that before? “I’m not perfect, I’m just human.” “I make mistakes, I’m a human.” “I’m only human.” The assumption is that being human is being flawed, sinful, broken, and imperfect, but I wonder if the Scripture teaches something different.
God created human in His image. Humans are meant to be living statues of God on the earth. God made humans to be like Him. God made humans to reflect Him. When we are truly human, we are most like God in the ways He intended us to be. God created humanity, and it was good. God created humanity, and it was complete. God created humanity, and it was sinless.
Every time we sin or fail, we are not “just being human”; we are actually being less than human. Jesus came to help us be truly human. He showed us the way. He says, “Follow me” for “I am the way.” Jesus came to help people living less than humanly to become truly human.
It would be easy to end this meditation with the exhortation to go “live like Jesus” or “do what He did.” We could give you a complimentary WWJD bracelet, but I am not convinced that Jesus would do that. Jesus rarely called people to mere action. He did not tell people to only do what He did. He did not come to just tell people how to live. Jesus came to transform and restore people back to their humanity, and it came from the most unlikely of ways.
Jesus lived the life of the perfect human that we could not live. He died the death that we deserved. Now, Jesus has empowered us through His Holy Spirit to be transformed from the heart. Jesus is not just interested in us doing the right things; He is interested in us having hearts from which the right things naturally flow. Jesus, through His Spirit, and with our participation, is making us truly human.
Read:
Genesis 1:26-31, Matthew 11:29, Philippians 2:13
Questions to Consider:
What is an area of my life that I am being less than human in? What would it look like to participate with the Holy Spirit in His transforming work in my life today?
Prayer:
Father, you have made me in your image to reflect you, and I am truly human when I am like you. I admit there are parts of my life that do not reflect you well. I want to be transformed into the image of Your Son.
By Pastor Christian Dawson