The Human One

The Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people. 
      - Mark 10:45, Common English Bible

Jesus referred to himself regularly in his teaching. Some have translated those references as "the Son of Man" and others have translated them as "the Human One." Both are good interpretations of the original Greek. 

"The Human One" can be helpful in reminding us that Jesus was so much like us that he called himself "the  Human One" after all! And if we want to become more like him, all we need to do is become more human. That's because Adam, as the original "human one" (that could be a translation of the Hebrew word 'Adam') was specifically made in God's image. The scriptures teach that every human being since was made in God's image as well. Finally, with Jesus being 'the Human One' we get to see the full force of what it means to be human. It means to be like Jesus.  

The more like Jesus become, the more human we become (and vice versa). That's a good reminder about this journey we're on. It should lead us to be robotic, less like gears in a machine, less 'just a number,' and less like an oversimplified meme on social media. We're each a piece of art (Paul calls us each a poem at one point in Philippians) and this journey towards Jesus is an invitation to be formed by the Spirit into that masterpiece that God originally designed us to be and which he now is working towards creating through Christ.

Take some time in quiet today and ask the Human One to teach you how to be truly human today, and to teach you how to be yourself.