My Dear Shepherds,
Our pastoral work would be so much easier—so much more effective, it seems to me—if we weren’t so … so human. I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the supernatural calling and gifts the Lord bestowed on us but still, this humanness we’re stuck with gets old. It’s so limiting, so wearisome, so humbling.
But Paul told all of us as believers,
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God … made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man … (Phil. 2:5-8)
I’ve left out some important parts in the text for the time being in order to focus on Christ’s humanness. Jesus’ servant nature coupled with his “human form” were essential to his humility, and his humility was essential to our redemption because it led to the Cross. The downside-up priority God puts on weakness as the secret of greatness, not to mention salvation, is always hard to wrap our heads around. But Jesus proved it true.
It’s a wonder to read that Jesus took on humanity when we ourselves, blessed with humanness since birth, are so reluctant to own it. Pastors especially seem bent on being superhuman at least part of the time, lifting more than we were intended to carry, working well past exhaustion, and trying to serve never-ending cups of cold water from a bone-dry well.
Of course, our humanity, unlike Jesus’, is saddled with sin, diseases of body and soul, and our inbred inability to trust and obey God. Our humanness isn’t just humbling; it can be flat out humiliating sometimes. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit continually makes progress in reshaping us as holy humans, but we all have a way to go.
Even at our sanctified best, being human makes pastoring difficult. But so it was for Jesus, our Good Pastor. For one thing, he was tempted in every way, just as we are. Temptations, even when we do not succumb to them, are draining interruptions. Withstanding them takes energy, self-examination, and prayer, all which seem to distract us from shepherding. But in fact they sensitize and equip us to empathize with our people, just as they did for Jesus himself.
Our human weakness is meant to lift our hearts toward God. Jesus constantly oriented himself to his Father through Scripture and prayer. When Jesus told us, “Without me you can do nothing,” he knew that without the Father, he likewise could accomplish nothing. Good pastors say, “I don’t know. We’ll have to pray,” “Before we decide, what does the Bible say,” and “Jesus said to ask anything in order that we might bear fruit, so let’s all ask.”
Our human weakness is also meant to draw us deeper into our life together as the body of Christ. It’s only together with our brothers and sisters , humans one and all, that we can represent Christ to our neighbors and to each other. We need one another’s spiritual gifts and Christ-life experience. We flourish through our mutual prayers, worship, and wisdom. Our love for one another, springing from God’s love for us, is how John can make the astounding statement, “In this world we are like Jesus” (1 Jn. 4:17).
For all its frustrations, accepting our humanity is a relief. It’s Christlike actually, and certainly makes us better pastors. Having the mindset of Christ requires it, and it is in our humanity that “he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own.”
Be ye glad!
