Son of Man 14: Self Expression

It is a well known psychological phenomenon that, when you speak or write, much of what you express is about yourself. As you mature you can become more aware of this human habit and learn to harness it for specific purposes. The more you develop your skill sets the more you can decide how much or little of yourself you will put into your words.

Top actors and writers can, in this way, create storylines which are not simply self related, but contain vast versatility and nuance.

So the Son of Man, that most developed of personalities, knew exactly what he was intending to communicate by his words and actions.

In his case, he was the medium and the message. He is the character and the plot. He is the word and the voice.

Knowing this, you now have a lens through which you can look at him. In fact, if you look through this lens, you increase your chances of seeing him as he saw himself – which is the whole point of this series.

I can assure you that once you’ve seen it, you will not see the Gospels in quite the same way again. Let me illustrate.

The astonishing piece of wisdom we call the Sermon on the Mount describes a narrow road behind a narrow gate. The whole sermon describes what it is like to travel down that road.

Who was the first traveler to take that path? Who was the first one to start with those nine blessed characteristics and to carry them into every aspect of his life? Who fasted, prayed and gave? Who handled persecution with grace and dignity? Who served God to the end, and not money?

Now you can attempt to see the Son of Man as he saw himself. You can even begin, by the Spirit, to feel, taste and sense the shape of his life.

Check out the Sermon on the Mount and you will find you are exploring the nature of the Kingdom of God. But don’t think this is some published manifesto, it is an invitation to wonder at the inner architecture of the Son of Man himself. He is, quite deliberately, telling you “this is what it is like to be me”.

If you look, lessons will tumble out of the pages when you look through this lens.

If you’re too busy right now to sit down and look for a long time I’ll give you one last thought to help you this week.

“In everything”, said the Son of Man, “do unto others what you would have them do to you”.

Looking at this in the way, I’m suggesting, will provoke you to ask “how did Jesus himself demonstrate this in his life and work?”

That should affect how you handle your week.

Work well.
Geoff Shattock

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