If You Have Ever Felt Alone...

I spent the last month being “in the way”.

At the end of September, I had surgery which significantly affected my mobility and I became a slow person in a fast paced world.

Because of my reduced mobility, I started to notice others who struggled with the same thing.

I saw those that were working up the courage to step off the curb, those using public benches and chairs to rest, those waiting for the automatic doors to open because they couldn’t open them themselves.

I noticed these things because I too was sitting on the benches and bracing myself to step off the curb.

I noticed these people primarily because I now knew the unique plight of mobility challenges because I was struggling with mobility challenges. I felt it in my flesh.

I now knew what it felt like to be a stopper in the flow of modern society and regarded as an inconvenience. I knew what it felt like to be in the way.

And, I have to admit, I did not love it.

And perhaps, like me, you have something that causes you to be “in the way” in the eyes of those around you. Whether it is physical or mental, emotional or spiritual. Perhaps you have something in your life that makes you a “slow person”according to society.

As we move into November, I cannot help but think about the Incarnation. In-meaning “in” and carnis - meaning “flesh”. When Jesus was “in-flesh”.

The Incarnation is the celebration of Jesus, not just understanding, but knowing what it is to be human because He was one.

I am glad we celebrate the birth of Jesus because it reminds me that His redemption of humanity began right at the very beginning- not just on the cross or at the empty tomb but from the first heart beat, the first gasp for breath, and the first feeling of cold and cry for hunger. And then to every milestone He reached as a growing child, in adolescence, and into adulthood. He redeemed all of the human experience by being human Himself, by being in-flesh.

Hebrew 4:15-16 says,

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Jesus is not distant from our experience as humans or removed from the notion of what we face. He felt it and tasted it, sweated it and lived in the restrain of it.

How many of us have felt alone in this life? How many of us have felt as if no one understands us?

Jesus’ life on earth is heaven’s compassionate response to our deepest longings: the longing for companionship and being known.

And the only way Jesus could truly know is if He left his heavenly throne and traded His glorious crown for the downy soft hair of a baby born to poor parents.

Knowing is different than just trying to understand. And this is why, in our time of need, Jesus offers us mercy and grace. He offers it because he knows what it feels like.

The coming celebration of Jesus’ birth is a reminder that the one who knows what we are experiencing has come. The one who made sure we knew we were not alone has come to earth.

If you have felt ignored - Jesus was pushed to the outside of his community, rejected by his home town and his own people, the ones he came to save. 

If you have dealt with physical pain and weakness - Jesus had his body torn to shreds by his fellow humans.

If the current political environment is causing you to worry - Jesus lived in one of the most heated and volatile political times in history and was a persecuted minority under the rule of the oppressive Roman Empire. 

If you have felt misunderstood by your family - Jesus’ brothers did not believe he was the Messiah. His disciples rarely understood his teachings and parables. And even at the transfiguration - his most trusted friends did not understand who he was. 

If you are dealing with grief - Jesus (most likely) lost his earthly father, his cousin John, his friend Lazarus, not to mention those in his town and community that would have died. 

If you feel lonely - Jesus faced his trial and death completely alone.

If you are caring for sick children - Jesus sat with children on their death beds and spent much of his time healing and caring for the sick. 

If money is tight and feels oppressive- Jesus was born into a very poor family and, as an adult, had no place to rest his head. 

If you are awake in the night with worries about big things you cannot change - Jesus sweat blood because of his stress and prayed through the night with the literal weight of the entire world on his shoulders.

If you feel the ache of broken friendships - every single one of Jesus’ friends abandoned him at his greatest hour of need, some denying they even knew him. 

All things have been redeemed and restored by Jesus because of his Incarnation.

He took all of the human experience and all the sin and temptation we deal with onto Himself and bore it, felt the excruciating pain, and did away with it.

This is why you and I need to cry out to Him in your time of need, His grace and mercy are unlike any other’s. 

And what a reason to celebrate this Christmas. It’s a time to be freed from the lie that we are alone and celebrate that we are deeply understood by Jesus.

As you prepare your heart for the upcoming Advent season, perhaps take a peak back at the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospels and see what Jesus might have to speak to you about what you are experiencing through his own experience.

You might just be surprised at what you find.

Today, may you receive grace and mercy in your time of need from the one who not only understands but KNOWS. And may your Christmas celebrations be a time of comfort in the arms of the one who lived it first.

Blessings friend.