I can’t help but imagine King of Kings in the manger at the time of his birth. Why did our Lord landed in a manger rather than some better place? This was the question which was my only ultimate question that I only wished so much I had proper answers, or at least some scriptural revelations.
One could ever imagine this scenario. But it is beyond our reasoning. Only God will give us perfect interpretation. Naturally, none of us came into the world in that manner. Jesus displayed his humility at the time of his birth till he expired on the cross. He was even pronounced “son of man.” Being son of God yet he submitted himself as a sacrifice toward humanity salvation. Such extraordinary life of humility is beyond human comprehension. This manger
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Exaltation is Gods business. God respects mankind free will and that He would not violate it. One must lower himself. God would do His part to exalt. In light of the scripture, our Lord never humbled people. He may have caused situations to humble people. But he never humbled one by bypassing his free will. Christians must exercise their own free will through attitude of prayer and fasting and a practical life of humility. We could relate these to Psalms 12:6 by replacing the word “discipline” in the place of “words.” “The discipline of the Lord is pure, like silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times. Humus talks about dirt and it also signifies humility. Thus humility is down to earth and possessing a humble view on of oneself. Dictionary defines it as the quality of having a humble view of ones own importance. Humility is starting where Jesus started. It is lying beside him in manger. Ultimately, it’s the attitude and condition of our heart that ought to be aligned with Gods attitude and ways. That is the spirit of manger. Heb 1:10 very well drives home it’s significance...“You Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth... Comparing the two scriptures (Ps 12:6 and Heb 1:10), they are interlinked and two point to a concrete foundation. “Tried in the furnace of earth...purified and “in the beginning laid the foundation of the
“He has finally learned to love big brother” was how George Orwell in his novel 1984 described Winston, conversion to the party are represented by big brother at the end of the novel. It is easy to believe that at this instance, after torturous reeducation that Winston has endured, he has lost free will and no longer be able to freely choose to love big brother but was forced to, against hiss will. Therefore Winston was never free to love big brother, and in fact not free at all after his “reeducation.” But if we are to accept a definition of free will that stipulates that we are able to produce and act on our own volitions we must accept that Winston has retained and has chosen to love big brother out of his own free will.
We observed a series of skits that exhibited the attributes of Jesus. During the final skit, while we were sitting inside the K-Life gym, a black curtain dropped and we saw three men hanging from crosses. The men looked as if they had taken baths in blood, and they were struggling to speak and breathe; the man on the middle cross portrayed Jesus. The skit continued to act out the entirety of the crucifixion and the presence of the Holy Spirit was prominent in the room. I was astonished when I realized that He suffered and died on the cross for a person as broken and sinful as me. After the skit was over, Joe slowly walked out to speak to everyone who had just watched the simulated crucifixion. He revealed to us how undeserving we are of God’s grace, and how Jesus died for every person that has ever lived. He continued on with his disquisition and we eventually began to worship. At this point in time I had begun to pray to Jesus, that he would take over my life and use me in a way that glorifies him. I did not know what this would look like, but I desired to be a living example of a man of God.
Paul describes Jesus Christ as one willing to be humble, in obedience to God the Father. It shows how Jesus willingness to humble Himself for us. Jesus didn’t come to us as God or King but as a human being. Jesus went through a lot of trouble and humiliation because of his will to follow the Father, for Him to be sacrifice for our sins. Jesus prove Himself to be the perfect Son of God by leaving his heavenly position to become a servant so He could rescue and redeem us. His power was shown when he died on the cross and resurrected. Because of what Jesus did God will honor him with highest honor and glory and eventually everyone will admit that Jesus Christ is, in fact Lord. Because of what Jesus Christ did God has exalted him above al and everyone will submit to Jesus as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. There will be one day will every knee will bow because the day is coming whether people accept it or not in the spirit world in heaven and in human world everyone will bow to Jesus
...is composed of two natures, one external, one internal, one divine the other human, one invisible and one visible. “For notwithstanding this supreme and divine state, he experienced swaddling clothes, the crèche, childhood and the powerlessness of childhood, flight and persecution” (pg 144). God experienced the lowliness of human nature. Even though Jesus experienced all these states he was truly God-man. However, the glory of the Father wasn’t established in him yet. It was deferred by the plan of God for his son. This division only existed in Jesus. It was for the sole purpose of representing and erasing the separation that occurred between God and his creatures through sin. Jesus was separated from glory due to love. So its our duty to love Jesus in his love. It was due to love he gave his divinity to humanity. The mystery is love and only can be love.
In his book Free Will, Sam Harris not only states that, “Our wills are simply not of our own making” but additionally if it where declared as fact by the scientific community it “would precipitate a culture war far more belligerent than the one that has been waged on the subject of evolution.” (Ch.1) Harris’ contention is surprising as he himself states, “…most people find these conclusions abhorrent” (Ch.1) but does it really matter whether we actually have free will or not? I maintain that the existence of actual free will is superfluous. Most of us agree that we, at the very least, experience an illusion of freedom and therefore, for the good of our civilization, we must continue to live under this assumption precisely to avoid the result Harris describes.
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."(New Revised Standard Version, John 1:14) As the only son of God in the Christian theology, Jesus Christ was tasked with a multitude of trials, and horrors the common man would have rebuked and refused to undertake. However, as a demi-god born of the divine Christian deity and the mortal, virgin Mary, Jesus was not the average mortal man.
A perfect example is in Matthew 3:13-15: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.” When Jesus demonstrated his baptism by a man he too showed his humility. Jesus is the son of God and didn’t have to put himself lowly, but he did to demonstrate his oneness with humanity. Both Henry and Jesus demonstrated their compassion and humility by joining together with those who were lesser than themselves. It connected both of them with their people and helped bind the love of their followers together. Of course, we are not on the same level as Jesus, but by Him dwelling amongst us, He experienced all the pain and suffering we as people endure. He put Himself in similar scenarios we as humans go through on a daily
Since the foundation of philosophy, every philosopher has had some opinion on free will in some sense, from Aristotle to Kant. Free will is defined as the agent's action to do something unimpeded, with many other factors going into it Many philosophers ask the question: Do humans really have free will? Or is consciousness a myth and we have no real choice at all? Free will has many components and is fundamental in our day to day lives and it’s time to see if it is really there or not.
The ideas of freedom and good are closely related. Freedom is the idea of being free or at peace instead of being trapped or unable to live as you choose. Good is something that is right or proper. Without the concept of good, there would not be freedom, a fundamental, universal right.
One may notice his divinity by the simplicity of Jesus’ birth in the infancy narrative. The King of Kings was humbly born in a manger where the shepherds flocked to admire him. The angel said to them, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:14) One sees Jesus’ humanity through his innocence and grace at the beginning of his life. The reader may connect with the humanly tasks that Mary and Joseph must attend to before the birth of Jesus. Jesus was not born in a castle or elaborate setting, but a simple manger in the small town of Bethlehem. The modesty of Jesus’ birth is a source that anyone can identify with. Another example of his humanity occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prays to his Father and says, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). One can sympathize with Jesus because of the physical pain he knows is about to unfold. The grief that Jesus speaks of is a sorrow that the reader can feel within their heart. Jesus’ humanity acts as the most intimate form of theology that people can connect with. His divinity reveals a different element to Jesus’ character which creates a type of awe that is a necessity in Catholicism
In the book One the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius it talks about why Jesus became human for our salvation. Jesus had no reason not to enter into the world as a human, because “it was right that they should be thus attributed to his as man, in order to show that his body was a real one and not merely an appearance” (Athanasius 15). Showing that it was important for Jesus to be a human and spread his knowledge among us; to help us learn and be able to teach other through oral and written tradition. It was now necessary for Jesus to come for our salvation because “had he surrendered his body to death and then raised it at once…which showed him to be not only a man, but also a God the word” (Athanasius 14). This connects back to by why Jesus wants humans to believe that he died a human death.
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
Human nature is about free will, and using one’s free will for good acts. We know free will exists because living things are being changed day after day. Any act, from walking across a room to deciding to eat a meal, is because of free will. We are given free will and with that, the ability to create our own, unique path in life. Free will provides human beings with freedom, judgement, and responsibility. Every human being is born with the capability to live a good, just life. However it is just as possible to live an immoral life led by bad choices. This notion of endless options in life is made possible by God’s gift of free will. No two human lives will ever be the same, because no two people will ever have the exact same experiences their entire lives. Every human being is shaped by experience, which comes from our actions, which are results of free will.
assemblies chanted a hymn to Christ as God. But the question how the Son was
to become one of us. Jesus walked along the same roadways and experienced the same trials and tribulations as other people. Accepting Jesus as fully human is as important as accepting him as fully divine. Jesus experienced stress, anger, frustration and loneliness but he chose never to respond sinfully to these experiences. Given the choice between popularity and telling people the truth, he chose the path that ultimately turned people against him and led to his death.