***In celebration of Easter, today is the first day of a two week devotion series on Jesus Christ--His birth, death, resurrection and example to all believers.

 

Monday, March 18, 2013

By: Gwen Hitt

 

He Understands

 

Matthew 1:23   "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel"---which means, "God with us."

 

 

  

 

As a mother of three children, I can remember when my children in their teen years expressed their belief that I could NOT understand what they were experiencing. It was impossible for them to imagine that I ONCE was a teenager! After all, I was their mom.....AND in their young minds, I had no other existence before taking on that role.

 

Today's scripture tells us that God was with us when Jesus was born. Colossians 2:9 also provides evidence that God took on a human form. "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body." Just as children have a hard time comprehending that parents were not born as adults and YES they were once teenagers, can we truly grasp that Jesus is 100% man and 100% God? That He--the Creator of the universe - came down from Heaven to be like us in every way. He was even tempted yet He never sinned.

 

Why did He do this? Since He is God and knows the beginning to the end, how could He have subjected Himself to such misery. Think about what He went through--He was subjected to deep emotional turmoil and physical pain to the point of excruciating torture. He experienced hunger, sadness, ridicule, and rejection. Is this something you would choose for yourself if you had control of the Universe????

 

The Bible clearly tells us that He was sent to Earth to sacrifice His life for our sin. Philippians 2:7-8 clearly shows that He knew what was going to occur "....taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death---even death on a cross!"

 

I believe that John 14:9 provides another purpose for Jesus' humanity. In this scripture, Jesus says "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." He made the elusive God real--He provided a glimpse of how God desired us to interact with others--He demonstrated God's love for all.

 

My challenge to you today if you have ever wondered if God truly understands what you are going through is to realize that He not only understands BUT He can EMPATHIZE with your suffering. He understands..........

 

Dear Lord, I am so grateful to You for coming to this world and paying the price for my sins and showing me how much God loves me.

 

I thank You Jesus for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.