Along those lines, God has used the earth as a proving ground of His own design, though not for destructive power. Instead, He sent His Son to earth to perfect Him:
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Hebrews 2:10-11
Does that mean that Jesus was imperfect before coming to earth as a man? That is a fallacy in every way, shape and form. Instead, the perfection that was being completed was His life lived to perfection. Jesus dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” on His way to the cross. By living a perfect life, without sin, though being tested in every possible sin, Jesus demonstrated His love for God’s creation, us. He was pushed, pulled, stretched, beaten, bruised, bloodied and betrayed, all to prove to us what He was willing to do for each citizen of the earth. When the military tests weaponry, its scientists have postulated what exactly will happen, yet there always are surprises. When God sent His Son to this proving ground, there were no surprises. It wasn’t to “see what happened” with the idea of tweaking it all to work perfectly. Instead, He sent His Son to demonstrate that love to us, that we might believe and love Him back!
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
Hebrews 5:8-10
Though Jesus is equal with God, the Father, He willingly subjected Himself to act in the will of the Father. Was Jesus disobedient before coming to earth? No, He was perfect then, too. By turning away from every temptation, Jesus showed us the power of God. That power is immense, for any of us walking this earth cannot even imagine one day in complete righteousness! By accepting such a painful death, Jesus showed us the power of His love, for as God, He never would have been subjected to death, even the death of the cross. With false witnesses testifying against Him, and many who did not understand the reason for His life, Jesus endured the pain and humiliation of the cross to bear the burden of our sins. Amazingly, Isaiah reminds us that “it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” Though the Father’s love for Jesus surpasses any love we can understand, God the Father was pleased by the event on that hilltop outside of the city of Jerusalem. For the death of Jesus on the cross opened the door of relationship for each of us willing to repent of our sins. At that moment of repentance, God removes the sin burden from each of our shoulders and places it upon the shoulders of His Son, on that day almost 2,000 years ago!
This earth is a proving ground for each of us, as well. Sometimes, we become more earthly-minded, though we are called to be heavenly-minded. Three score and 10 years might seem like a lengthy period of time, yet most people approaching the age of 70 cannot believe that the time passed so quickly. Our time spent on earth will not equate to a breath in the time we will spend in heaven! Yet we are here to prove our allegiance to God, who created us. Once you have made the decision to follow Jesus, the most important part of your work already has been achieved. Yet after that decision has been made, the remainder of your time spent here is to share that process with others walking in brokenness.
If God knows the outcome of each of our lives beforehand, why put us through it all? Just as He did with His only Son, the Father is offering proof to the world, that they might see Him through Jesus and through us as believers, as we should reflect Him.
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:10-11
God’s greatest desire is that all He created would know His love, yet many will not choose to follow Him. At Judgment Day, everyone will acknowledge His work, and His personal attempt at proving His love for each of us.
Are you willing to suffer in order to prove your faith, as Jesus did? Often, we complain when merely uncomfortable, yet it might be our joy in the midst of trial that speaks the loudest to our unbelieving friends and neighbors. Do you love Jesus? Prove it!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6
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