Zits and All

It's easy for us to believe, at times, that we're alone in the world, that no one really understands us.  Most teenagers go through this; their thinking begins to mature, they start having different ideas than their parents and the result is often the feeling of being the only one who thinks like they do.

Guess what:  God knows this too, and he has already solved it!  Remember when the Son "became human and made his home among us" (John 1:14)?  The Orthodox Study Bible puts it this way:  "Most of us ask ourselves at one time or another, 'Does anyone else in all the world understand me?'  The Incarnation -- the 'enfleshment' of the Son of God answers that question once and for all -- with a resounding Yes!" 

Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, had to go through learning to walk and talk, learning to read and write, relating to other kids and to adults, and learning his true path in life.  He went through adolescence (did he have zits?) and learning a trade with his stepfather, Joseph; and suffered through the same "nobody understands me" that we do -- only on a more massive scale!  After all, nobody was really going to believe he was the Son of God (at least not in his own neighborhood; see Luke 4:20-30).

He did more than that.  He experienced rejection, bullying, and unfair accusations.  In fact, he took on every form of pain, in one way or another, that we experience.  He was tempted by every human temptation, yet he never gave in to sin. And his whole nation rejected him.  Even his disciples deserted him (Matt. 26:56).  In Isaiah 53, the prophet tells the story of the "Suffering Servant" who was to come:  "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief...it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down...he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole."  That was Jesus. 

Jesus understands.  When nobody else understands, Jesus understands.  Because he does, the Father understands.  And the Father has completely accepted us -- zits and all -- because of how his Son came to be with us, lived perfectly for us, and then gave himself a perfect sacrifice for all our anger, doubt, fear, lust, envy and every other sin we've ever committed.  Every one of our sins is wiped away because of the blood of Jesus, and we're given a whole new life because he was resurrected from death.  Jesus understands the struggles we go through every day to follow him, and he accepts us as his brothers and sisters -- zits and all. 

Have you surrendered your whole life to him?  If not, isn't it about time you did?