THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 17:1-8
A great prince falls from his horse into mud; the horse bolts, leaving him stranded.
Mud-covered, limping, he is unrecognizable to the people he meets.
He begs for help, explains who he is, what he can do for them, but they don’t listen.
They treat him as an ordinary serf, until the king comes looking for him.
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (5)
God created humans to be like Him, crowned with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:17).
But we’ve jumped into mud, and this world has become a stinking bog of immorality.
Jesus steps in as a human, just like us, and is covered by the muck of our sin.
But beneath the filth He willingly endures, He is a perfect Adam, the Son of God.
In this story, for a brief moment, we see Jesus in His glorious humanity.
He is the promised Son of Man, the obedient Adam who will defeat Satan.
Here in this moment, we see the created glory of humanity, as we were made to be.
One day we will shine with His glory – crowned with glory over God’s creation.
Believe it or not, THIS is how God sees us too, as we stand with Jesus.
The muck of sin remains, but God sees through the mud to the forgiven child within.
This story encourages me to see everyone in this light – as God’s forgiven children.
Do we realize it, do we act like it, do we show it… no, we still play in the mud.
But because of Jesus, we see everyone else crowned in the light of His glory and honor.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, forgive me for not seeing the royalty behind the muck. Help me to see people for who they were made to be. Help me and others to start living like who we were made to be.