Jesus, Our Model

Isaiah 53

It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. (Isaiah 53:4)

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS COMPREHENSIVE—spiritual salvation from the penalty of sin, but also holistic salvation that includes every aspect of our lives. Here on earth we wrestle with many hardships: relationship issues, health problems, unemployment, income and debt imbalances, emotional wounds, worries about the future, and so much more. God is concerned for all of them. He even promises the eventual restoration of his material creation—bodily resurrection and new heavens and a new earth. While seeing the gospel as a legal decree may cover our ultimate concerns about eternity, seeing it as a comprehensive promise brings it into here-and-now life. And we need God for every inch of it.

Jesus knew this. He carried our weaknesses and sorrows and spent much of his ministry dealing with people’s physical bodies, emotional needs, and immediate spiritual concerns. He promised eternal life, but he demonstrated the goodness of God in everyday circumstances.

That’s our calling too. No aspect of life is off limits to God’s mercy and grace, so no aspect should be off limits to ours. He carries our sorrows and pain, so we must carry the sorrows and pain of others. He stepped into the daily lives of the people around him, so we must step into the daily lives of those around us. Every consequence of the Fall was his concern, so every consequence is our concern too. We are ministers in the broken places and dark shadows of this world.

But we are also more than that. We are carriers of hope and glory. We cannot solve every problem, but we can point people to the one who can. While many Christians look toward a day of escaping this life, we must remember to spend our days bringing God into it. Like our divine template, we live sacrificially, expectantly, and purposefully to bring healing to the hurts of this world.

{Lord, I cannot thank you enough for carrying my weaknesses and bearing my sorrows. Thank you for all that salvation includes and the fullness of life it brings. Help me give others a taste of what you’ve given me. Amen.