Choosing Jesus

Okay, now that we've waded through all of the human tangle of politics and established that yes, God does want us to participate in this, and we've seen how it is that we choose our candidates (either persons we can relate with or those we believe have the expertise that we need to address the concerns in our hearts), we get to what it is that I was thinking last week, just out of nowhere, that is what I really wanted to say this week:

I would vote for Jesus. 

That's it. That's the thought that I had. As I sat here thinking about the races that were going to be on my ballot and trying to make decisions about which candidates I should give my voice to this cycle, it struck them that if I'm looking for someone who can relate with the kind of life that I actually live and someone who has the expertise necessary to address my primary concerns, I would vote for Jesus. 

That's the whole point of His coming to earth, isn't it? To show us that He is exactly this kind of guy? That He is exactly this kind of God? 

Jesus came and lived in the very same flesh in which we live. He walked on the same kind of dusty ground that we walk on. He traveled by boat and He ate in houses and He even fried fish a time or two. He dealt with the rejection of those who thought they were better than Him, and He lived with the fierce attachment of friends who would not leave Him. He had a mother and a father and some brothers, at the very least. He had women who followed Him around, and we'd be hard pressed to create an argument that none of them had a crush on Him, even a small one. 

He carried around money bags with Him, which means that He went to the market and He paid for things. He even paid taxes! He had hair that He had to comb, skin that He had to wash, clothing that He had to mend or maybe even buy new when He put on a few pounds. He put on a few pounds! Jesus has lived in my flesh, so He gets it. He can relate to the things that I am going through. 

Not only that, but He demonstrated that He has the kind of expertise necessary to handle my issues. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, voice to the mute. He clothed the naked and fed the hungry. He cast demons out of the possessed. He forgave the sinner. He freed the prisoner. He moved heaven and earth to get here and then, when He came, He moved heaven and earth again for the good of those who love Him. 

He performed the ultimate act of authority and power - He took on death itself and won. If I'm looking for a guy who can take care of the things I'm concerned about, Jesus is Him.

I've heard stories for a lot of years about what it means that Jesus came in the flesh. I've heard stories for a lot of years about these very ideas that I've expressed here. I've even understood some of them; I've even agreed with some of them and assented to them intellectually. 

But when I had this thought last week in the context of the upcoming vote, something clicked for me in a way that it hadn't clicked before. If I'm looking for the guy, Jesus is the Guy. That's the whole point of the whole thing: Jesus is the Guy. He's the One I'm looking for. 

(I'll tell you what that doesn't mean tomorrow.)