Like one of us...

 Jesus as a boy from The Passion of the Christ

I've been thinking about Jesus these past few days.  Most of the time, I think of Jesus as a grown man, walking through Israel with His disciples, teaching the multitudes, and tipping over tables in the temple, but lately I've been thinking of Him as a child and a teenage boy. Since Jesus was totally human like my kids, I imagine Him as a toddler, sneezing with a cold and wiping His messy nose on Mary's sleeve.  I'll bet there were times when He was up crying in the night because He was all stuffed-up and needed some Vicks  eucalyptus ointment rubbed on his chest.  I can see Him with scraped, bruised knees from racing his brothers over the gravel roads and falling after skidding across rocks.  I imagine Mary picking slivers from Jesus' hands as he learned to use the tools of a carpenter alongside Joseph.  If He worked as hard as I think He did, I'll bet He was sweaty and stinky with his hair full of wood shavings after a hard day's work, and if He was anything like my boys, He probably didn't wash all the way up to his elbows before supper and had to go back and rewash before sitting down to the table.  And I'll bet He forgot to brush His teeth regularly.  Halo shining?  Not a chance.  Totally human was my Savior, Jesus -- like one of us.

These thoughts bring me to a song that I heard for the first time a couple of nights ago.  It's called "One of Us."   I like this particular version of it best from contestant, Sarah Simmons, on the night she debuted on The Voice.



Here is a link to the full song One of Us (sung by Sarah Simmons)