by Dr. Don Boyd

Now in Heaven, Dr. Boyd was the former Principal of Hammond Baptist High School.

I KNOW LIFE HAS ITS HURDLES, PROBLEMS, AND trauma, but it still can be wonderful and abundantly fruitful.

Before you give up, let me ask you to consider how difficult it was for Jesus.

Let’s look at and consider the following about the life of Christ.

  1. He took on the form of a servant. (Philippians 2:5-8) He, being God, limited Himself to only the power that a godly, surrendered Christian can get from God. He endured life as a human in order to understand our hurts.
  2. He dwelt in the midst of sinful men. (Matthew 1:23)
  3. His hometown was a poor, insignificant town called Bethlehem. (Matthew 5:2)
  4. He was born in a stable. (Luke 2:7b) It was not as warm and cozy as it is often portrayed by some. It was cold stone attached to a cave, packed with smelly animals. The stench was unbearable.
  1. He Who was rich became poor for our sakes. (II Corinthians 8:9)
  2. He was the son of poor Jewish parents. (Matthew 13:55) They could only afford to offer pigeons, which was allowed for the poor.
  3. He was raised in Nazareth, a slum area. (John 1:46)
  4. He was in subjection to human beings. (Luke 2:51)
  5. His mother did not understand Him. (Luke 2:49)
  6. He grew up in a home with a stepfather.
  7. He was a teenager in a single parent home. His stepfather died when Jesus was 14 years old.
  8. He often lacked housing. (Matthew 8:20)
  9. He suffered hunger and thirst and exhaustion. (Matthew 4:1-7)
  10. He was tempted continually to do wrong.
  11. His life was cut short. He only lived 33 years. (Luke 3:23)
  12. He owned no mode of transportation, no vehicle. He borrowed a donkey. (Matthew 21:6,7)
  13. He borrowed the upper room. (Luke 22:11) He was God in human flesh. He owned everything, but He asked to borrow what was rightfully his.
  14. He was betrayed for a slave’s price. (Matthew 26:14, 15)
  15. His followers denied Him. (Matthew 26:56)
  16. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. (Matthew 27:56-61)
  17. His court trial was unjust and illegal on the day before the Sabbath. (John 1:8)
  18. The witnesses against Him did not agree. (Mark 14:5b)
  19. The leadership mistreated Him when they physically hit Him and tore His clothes.
  20. The charges against Him were changed three times.
  21. His treatment was most severe.
  22. Medical doctors and Luke, His own physician, say He died in agony.
  23. He asked, “Why?” but He trusted the Father.
  24. His heart showed tremendous evidence that He had a broken heart when He died.
  25. He was away from Home in a foreign land when He died.
  26. His own Father turned His back on Him because He had to die in our place as a sinner. (Psalms 2:2)
  27. He was so human He cried, “MY God, My God, WHY?”
  28. His suffering was not deserved—it was to keep us from eternal death.
  29. He is denied by the world even today.
  30. He is still betrayed by the ones for whom He died.
  31. He died as a sinner and suffered tremendous shame and embarrassment. (Isaiah 50:6 and Heb. 12:2)
  32. He suffered an eternity of Hell for everyone who has ever lived or will ever live; therefore, none of us will ever hurt as much as we deserve.

I KNOW IT GETS TOUGH AT TIMES, but before you quit, consider Jesus and keep going for His sake. Look at the big picture and keep the right perspective on your trials and troubles.