Daily Reading 18

I just have to start off by giving you the gist of the last part of Max Lucado's writing for today. If Jesus were just God he could not understand us. If he were just man, he could love us but never save us. Then he says, "But a God-man Jesus? Near enough to touch. Strong enough to trust. A next-door Savior."

In the reading from Luke chapter 7, Jesus is watching a funeral procession. A mother is burying her little boy. Instead of standing with his head down and eyes watering like most of us would be, Jesus is whispering to the mother. She looks shocked and then nods. Jesus tells the men carrying the casket to wait. Then he speaks to the boy, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" -Luke 7:14. He says it with power and authority. Kind of like when your mother uses your full name. He meant business. The boy starts to breath again, his skin warms up, and he jumps into the arms of his mother.

Amazing. Raising someone from the dead. Kind of creepy, too, but definitely amazing. After the funeral, Jesus is eating with the disciples and Peter realizes who is sitting beside him. Jesus is sitting there eating lunch, probably laughing and telling stories with the guys. Peter thinks back to what just happened and the reality of this powerful, Godly man hits him. He probably wonders why this man is not surrounding himself by kings and angelic beings. But that is the irony of Jesus. He came for everyone, not just the rich and powerful. In order to let people know who he was, he did lots of amazing things. But at the end of the day, he was also a man, who could understand people because he was living right there with them.