“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
Jesus, who is the Word and 100% God, stepped out of heaven, took on the flesh of humankind, and entered our world.
With this huge step of becoming flesh, we must know that Jesus willingly set aside His divine rights to become like us!
Clearly, Jesus did not suffer from any divine identity crisis. He was very clear on who He was and is. Yet, Jesus did not hold onto this equality with God the Father but made Himself insignificant. Literally, He emptied Himself of His divine rights to take on the form of mankind. He took on the limitations of space and time and, in some cases, limitations of knowledge and power so that He could identify with us.
Now, to follow Jesus and to experience God at work in and through us, we must also be willing to give up our ‘rights.’ If we are not very, very careful, these ‘rights’ can create an actual barrier between Jesus and us. They can become a weight that holds us back. One of the greatest tragedies of American Christianity is that we allow our blessings from God to keep us from fully following Him.
If we look through the gospels, we see Jesus challenging people to give up specific ‘rights’ or ‘blessings’ to follow Him. He asked them to leave behind family, occupations, homes, money, safety, security, and comfort. His challenge was clear: Following Jesus could cost them everything … but they would gain eternity with Him.
What would you do today if Jesus asked you to give up everything to follow Him?
Would you accept the challenge?
Written by Bryant Wright, Founder, RFTH
