Easy Life

The Easy Life.

I often find myself thinking how hard I have it.

Somehow in the back of my mind I hear 'Jesus must have had it really easy being the son of god'. 

The more I think about that, the more wrong it seems.

Jesus didn't have an easy life.  In fact Jesus physical life was anything but easy and remarkably typical.  Given the total of humanity that has ever lived his life was very typical.   It's easy to forget that from the insulated comfort of our western 'modern' lives.

Even today most of humanity doesn't have central heat, clean water, electricity, public schools, honest public safety, safe food or 'modern' medical care we take for granted.  Jesus certainly had none if these things.

He spent 30 years experiencing the difficult parts of being human.  Waking up sore and tired.  Being thirsty, hungry, oppressed, humiliated.  This was all before the crucifixion.  This was all before he even started his ministry.  I think he knew very well how difficult it is being a human.  I think he may have even been sick, injured on the job or other mundane things we imagine he must have been exempt from.

I imagine before his ministry started his hands were already scared and dirty and strong from working with Joseph as a carpenter.

So when I'm tempted to think he was without sin because he had an easy life, I know better.  He had a typically miserable human life.  But that life qualified him and taught him how to communicate the kingdom of his father.  The ideas he brought to humanity have challenged the brightest minds humanity can muster for the last 2000 years. 

These ideas came from a semi-literate, manual laborer, who never wrote a book, never commanded an army, never held political office.