a bit of rambling about the incarnation

The idea of the incarnation fascinates me. I spend a lot of time letting it flow through me, eddying and swirling and I try to grasp it, but get only little droplets of insight.

God became man.

God with a runny nose. God with a smashed finger from learning how to use a hammer. God needing a bath.
God ate soup. God laughed. God cried.
But the thing is... he wasn't God, he was man. He was God, but He was man. Okay... that part I definitely can't grasp.

You know, when someone you love is in pain and you feel powerless? You want to help. You would give anything to fix things, to ease their burden, but you can't...
Did Jesus ever experience that? We know that Joseph died, and I'm sure many others whom Jesus cared about. Did he look to the Father wanting to intervene and God said "no." And so he had to stand by, watching, waiting and feeling the same helplessness we do?
Or was his knowledge of God and eternity so perfect that he could see the bigger picture and felt no struggle in that moment?

The Bible says he was tempted in all ways just like we are. And I think that during those times we are tempted. Tempted to want things our way instead of God's way. Thinking we can handle the situation better than God can. Tempted to doubt His goodness.

So, I think that Jesus did experience that. I think that was another part of the sacrifice. He was not God, he was a man. A man like us. But different. In all ways the same. In all ways different.

It makes no sense to my feeble mind. But the coming of the God/Man into our lives--into our existence--changed everything. I'm not sure how he did it. I'm just glad he did.