Our humanity can be more fully understood in the strong relationship Jesus had with God the Father. Actively Participating in a relationship with God the Father in union with Jesus is vital for our humanity, love, trust and peace. Without a Fatherly relationship with God, we cannot expect to have the humble, childlike trust we so desperately need in the world (Matt 18:3-5).
Jesus came down from Heaven and emptied Himself of His divinity to share in our humanity. He taught us how to live out our humanity when He told us the two greatest commandments were to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). He made it clear that He Himself loved the Father and He wanted the world to know this ( John 14:31). Perhaps one of the most beautiful things Jesus said were the first two words of the prayer He taught us… Our Father (Matt 6:9). In this prayer He showed us that we were family and our neighbors were all our family members. He often gave parables to let us know how much the Father loved us as well. The prodigal son is one such story (Luke 15:11-32). Another story is where He assured us that the Father provides and answers our prayers (Matt 7:7-11).
Yes. The major marks of Jesus humanity were surrounded with love of God and neighbor and by making His Father our Father, we became one family. When we look at His life and His humanity from those two perspectives, we get a better idea of how we are to live.
Jesus was born to a very poor and humble family. He didn’t grumble about it. He said yes to His Father and trusted that He was being put into the arms of love. We often say He was born in a manger and into a poor family because He was humble. That is true, but it also shows that He loved and trusted the Father to have made the right choice. He was always going off to lonely places to pray to the Father. He definitely worked at their relationship and He made it very clear that He was here to do the will of His Father. He was born poor and died stripped and yet, no matter what it may have looked like on the surface, He always pointed to the Father that He trusted. He preached about the Father and told us how much He wanted to do His will and glorify Him. He assured us of His Father’s love for us and His mercy towards towards us. He wanted us all to have the same great relationship with the Father as He did. All these aspects are what His humanity was focused on and what He wanted us to know and model. Do we? Do we live these out? From being born into a poor poor family to being crucified on a cross, Jesus trusted the Father because He loved Him, had a relationship with Him and knew He was loved in return.
Do we pray to the Father? Do we work on our relationship with the Father? Can we improve on our relationship if we have one? Do we do His will? Do we trust the Father to the point that Jesus did? Do we have fear in our lives or do we trust we have a Father who loves us and takes care of us? If we had a relationship with the Father in the way Jesus did, would our life be different? Would we fear less? Would we trust more? From His parents, Mary and Joseph, to Pontius Pilate, He trusted the Father in all circumstances of His life and with all the people He encountered. Do we do the same? If we get fearful or upset, where is our belief in having a very loving Father who watches over us? How would our relationship with God be if our relationship with God the Father was greater?
Have you ever looked at Joseph and thought how many attributes he must have had, though to a lesser degree, that were the Father’s? It stands to reason that God would pick a father for Jesus that mirrored Him. The first fatherly relationship Jesus understood was with Joseph. He had a very strong foundation of fatherly love from Joseph that He could then use to transition to loving God, the Father. Oftentimes people say they have a hard time relating to God as a father because their relationship with their own father was a bad one. In a world where families are degraded as well as Father’s, it stands to reason why this tactic would be used. If one can’t see their own Father as a protector and provider, how could they see God the Father as one? How could they truly trust and give their circumstances to God without always taking them back? Add to that the desire this world has to push fear and how does one embrace the Fatherly guidance of God and the unfailing trust in His protection that He so desires we have? Sadly, they often do not. Sadly, while we are encouraged to be in union with Jesus, we are often given a pass not to even try to model the relationship He had with His Father. This is especially true if we had a bad relationship with our own father. Instead of praying to be able to grow in that relationship, we take the pass. I believe we would all be better off if we developed a strong relationship with the Father right alongside Jesus so we, too, could have an unshakable confidence in His love and care for us. We must have a Father/child relationship just as Jesus did. If you have trouble with this, would it help you to better understand the Father and His love for us if you reflected on Joseph and his love for Jesus?
There are many questions here to prayerfully reflect on. With Father’s Day approaching it would really serve us well to reflect on these questions and see where we are in modeling Jesus and the extremely important relationship He had with His Father…a relationship He desires that we also have in union with Him.
Prayerfully Reflect on the following:
What type of Father was Joseph was for Jesus. Talk to Jesus about this. What can you learn from that reflection that you may be able to use to improve your relationship with God the Father.
What is your relationship with God the Father like? Go with Jesus to the Father and talk to Him about it.
Reflect on scriptures noted above in regards to your relationship with Gid the Father..
Use any of the questions above to grow in your relationship.