I never really got to know my brother very well, because he was over five years older than me. While I looked up to him as an older brother, I did not share very many of his hobbies or interests. I never really understood his fascination with reptiles, especially poisonous snakes. When he worked as an assistant in a serpentarium, I cringed every time I thought feeding, milking and caring for vipers. I never envied the position! However, he was still my brother. We have a common heritage.
Another one of my brothers (John 1: 12 – 13) I struggle relating to at times is Jesus. Not because I don’t love Him with every fiber of my soul, but because He possessed so many characteristics I wish I had. Yet I know that I, and you, are in the process of being transformed into his likeness (Romans 8:29, I Corinthians 3:18.) If you are like me, you feel miserable at any attempts to be compared to Him as your big brother. Yet we need to halak with Him with the same unity, harmony and single-mindedness as The Father. We know that took the image The Father gave him and created us (John 1:3) and follow the creation process by giving us gifts (Ephesians 4:7–13) for which we are responsible. So, today, I ask you to consider the unique relationship you must have with the Son of God.
Christ’s role is very different from The Father’s, so, for you to have a relationship with both, you must identify Their differences. There is no lack of harmony as They are one in mind and spirit. However, just as we know that there are differences in roles of men and women, so must we also deliberate the differences in the roles of The Father and the Son. There are two distinct phases of human creation taking place in Genesis 1:27. First, The Father conceived all aspects of the universe; then He passed them on to the Son for creation. Christ makes this very plain as He addresses His disciples: “Now they [the Apostles] know that everything I have is a gift from you.” (John 17:7) Christ took each image from The Father’s mind and created the individual both genetically and ancestrally perfect for his or her time and space. He breathed life into every likeness—both the saved and unsaved.
Christ’s additional role is as mankind’s intercessor. This was prophesied in Genesis 3:15.[i] There we see the prophetic outline of how He would atone for His creations throughout the time-space continuum. His appearance as “the Angel of the Lord” in Genesis 17; Exodus 3, 12, and 14; Numbers 22; Judges 6 and 13; 2 Kings 1 and 19; and 2 Chronicles 21 leaves no doubt of His commitment to our protection and best interests. When miracles and other outside intervention weren’t enough, His commitment caused Him to humble Himself, become one of us, and die for us. In other words, He suffered for our mistakes and wrong-doings. Through that humbling, He helped us see the heart of the invisible Father.
So, as you consider your relationship with the Son of the God Family, what is your connection to Him as you perceive it? What do you two have in common? When you halak together, where should your conversation and communication be based?
Love, Dad