Hitting the out-of-reach pinata

After spending the past week trying to internalize this concept of living as a revolutionary, I find myself returning again today to the meaning behind the discussions. I find myself evaluating my past week and finding how short I have fallen day after day in my pursuit of embodying the passions about which I was writing. And I find myself dwelling this morning on Jesus.

These two passages can't escape the grip of my mind:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless , obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death -- and the worst kind of death at that -- a crucifixion. (Philippians 2:5-8 Msg ~ Emphasis Peterson's.)

- and -

Now that we know what we have -- Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God -- let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all -- all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. (Hebrews 4:14-16 Msg ~ Emphasis mine.)

I've spent a few hours this morning reading articles and wikipedia entries which speak to different views of Christ: monophysitism, dyophysitism, Eutychianism, Apollinarianism, adoptionism, and more. After reading a friend's blog entries the past few days about simplifying the church, I couldn't help but think of how complicated things get when we try to define and map out every aspect of God. But our minds crave that, don't they? It's so difficult to simply believe that it's true, just as it is told or written (especially for someone from Missouri -- the "Show-Me State").

At the same time I'm reminded of the word faith. That's what it's all about...believing in the Navigator even when you, personally, can't see the roadmap.

I guess I'm just marveling in the notion that Jesus set aside his deity (NASB says "emptied Himself" and the Greek word used kenoo can further be interpreted "to make void") and became a man. Beyond just becoming a man and living with all of the difficulties and temptations this entails, he lived constantly under the attack of Satan himself; something I believe most of us will never fully understand (thankfully). Further, if Jesus truly emptied himself or set aside his deity (don't hear me wrong...I'm not saying he wasn't God) then I am led to think about the way that he dealt with every single problem using only the strength and determination he had, as a man who was completely filled by the Spirit.

Do you see the implications? It's basically this (here we go again -- simply complicated): it really is possible to live the life that Jesus lived. It's possible because he lived as a human. But the obvious challenge is to come close to the kind of connection he kept with the Father. That constant interaction is what allowed the passage in Hebrews to ring true. This is what allowed our High Priest to live, fully human, without sin.

I feel there is some danger in me posting this as it would be all too easy to misinterpret what I'm saying and think that this guy believes we can all be mini-christs. Well, I'm not selling any recipes for miracles, transfigurations, or H2O strolls...however, I am trying to point out that indeed we can become more like the Master then I think I have considered possible in previous seasons of my life. Why else would his example consistently be given to us in the way shown in those passages above if it were impossible to shoot for from the very beginning? Put another way, I don't see God playing some kind of practical joke on us...laughing at us as we swing at the pinata that He's already pulled far out of our reach. The example has to be reachable if God has given it to us, right?

Jesus was fully human...we are fully human. The Father desired constant interaction (experts call this a "relationship") with Jesus just like He desires with us. Jesus was called to holiness and righteousness just as we are. Jesus acknowledged and lived out that calling being 100% selfless and obedient just as we...oops. There's the difference between Jesus and me. There's the key. When I learn to be 100% selfless and obedient, I am convinced that some incredible things can happen. I'm convinced that the higher I can push that percentage, the closer I will come to being like my Savior, Master, Teacher, Friend.