If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
– John 14:28
Nuclear reaction:
A process, such as fission, fusion, or radioactive decay, in which the structure of an atomic nucleus is altered through release of energy or mass or by being broken apart. **
Nothing inspires as much collective societal angst as the sight of an atomic bomb exploding.
We know from history the release of energy derived from the splitting of an atom has the power to level a city, vaporize its inhabitants, and bring nations to their knees. We’ve seen the footage of an atomic bomb blasting into the sky and over the land.
Rewind the video. Imagine all that explosive force and power being compressed into one atom. Or one cell.
Or one body.
The declaration of Jesus in John 14:28 was not He was less than His Father in quality. He was less in quantity. In His incarnation, the all-powerful Word was compressed into a single organism, limited to time and space, constrained by the boundaries created by living in a body of flesh in a finite dimension. He only had two hands and two feet. He got tired, frustrated, and hungry. He could only be in one place at a time. It was in this vessel God lived and suffered and conquered the curse for us.
Jesus could have stopped the process at any time. He could have returned to heaven and left us lost. His obedience opened the floodgates of life to us. Like Him, we are called to humble ourselves so that others may live.
How can we better serve our Lord?
Acknowledge the boundless love that drove Christ to limit Himself for us.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the pint of death, even death on a cross.
– Philippians 2:5-8
Surrender to our limitations, as Christ submitted to His.
Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exult you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
-1 Peter 5:6
Commit ourselves to His path.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.
– Matthew 10:25
It is enough to be like Him. To accomplish this, we surrender to living out of His purpose for us, revealed in bodies of flesh, tied to the limits of this space in time. We see what He endured for us and cry, “Lord, I am content with the situation in which you have placed me, for this is the path You have walked before me. If You are better glorified by this, I am blessed.”
**The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
