Milk Truck Monday

Everyone knows how much fun Mondays are:  trying to get back into the swing of things after a weekend that was no where near long enough;  almost nothing goes right; the fog doesn't seem to want to lift; life seems utterly depressing...   

Mondays in our house are affectionately known as "Milk Truck Mondays", because this is the day out of the week where we most feel like quitting whatever thing it is we have to do in order to go drive a milk truck, where you don't have to talk to anyone, you can be as crabby as you want and no one will be upset with you!  Sounds good, doesn't it?!  I've decided that since most of us tend to struggle through Mondays, this is a perfect day to post something encouraging.  So, here it is for today.  If you're feeling bummed out today, take heart.  Here is an excerpt from "Vintage Jesus" (a book I highly recommend), written by Mark Driscoll.

JESUS WAS BUMMED

"Being fully human, Jesus experienced the entirety of human emotions, which means that he had some painful moments like the rest of us who suffer in a cursed and broken world.  Predicting this hundreds of years before his birth, Isaiah 53:3 promised that Jesus would be "despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."

One of the most astonishing things about Jesus is that as God he actually chose to come into our fallen sick, twisted, unjust evil, cruel, painful world and be with us to suffer like us and for us.  Meanwhile, we spend most of our time trying to figure out how to avoid the pain and evil of this world while reading dumb books about the rapture just hoping to get out.  Jesus truly lived a painful life that was fully human, as the following examples illustrate:

• Jesus was tempted to sin by the Devil himself.
• Jesus had money troubles that included being poor, getting ripped off, struggling to pay his taxes, and being homeless.
• People attacked Jesus by spreading vicious rumors, physically abusing him, and mocking and spitting on him.
• Jesus was continually jacked with by religious neatniks.
• Jesus had some bummer days marked by loneliness, deep sorrow, exhaustion, and weeping.
• Jesus' friends were a joke and no help in times of crisis; they even betrayed him and turned their backs on him.
• Jesus' family thought he was a nut job.
• Jesus turned to God the Father but did not have all his prayers answered as he requested.
• Jesus bled.
• Jesus died.
• Jesus used his final breaths to forgive those who destroyed him.

For those who are sick, abused, burned out, tired, bedridden, flat broke, tempted, weary, hated, lonely, and dying, the humanity of Jesus on his darkest days is encouraging.  Without these insights into Jesus' life, it would be difficult for us to run to him in our time of need because we would be unaware of the similar experiences he had during his life on the earth. Those experiences make him a compassionate friend.  Therefore, the humanity of Jesus is as important for our love of Jesus as his divinity."

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Hebrews 4:15-16.