When Jesus introduced his disciples to communion, he broke the bread and he gave it to them, saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
That’s an interesting thing to say. He was only leaving for three days, and then he’d be back. Not only that, but I would argue that we can more fully live in the presence of Jesus now than we could sitting beside him before His death.
We live in the present reality of a risen Jesus. Jesus is in the room with me right now the same as any physical person I can see or touch. He is more real than the chair I’m sitting in. I don’t need to “remember” people that I’m with, I can just look at them.
So what exactly was he telling his disciples to remember?
I think Jesus was commanding us to remember his humanity. As Jesus broke the bread, which symbolized his broken body, he said, “Don’t forget.”
It’s so easy to forget the hard times once the good times come. I think He was saying, “After I come back in my glory and perfection, don’t forget that I was really a man—just as fragile as you, just as susceptible to every temptation, doubt, insecurity, and loss as you. Don’t forget that I really did this part.”
And that’s what we celebrate at Christmas.
Christmas is about Jesus’s frailty. Sure the bit about the angels, and the shepherds, and the wisemen—that’s all great stuff. But the fundamental element of it all is that God came to Earth as a real human baby.
Not as some God-human hybrid, but fully a baby. What other “god” did that?
In doing so, he experienced the gamut of the human experience of hope, loss, suffering, joy, contentment, and temptation.
The Bible says so. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
Jesus lived the human experience. He was really tempted just like you and me, and yet He was without sin.
What does it mean to be human? Jesus knows. What are the limits of our bodies? What are the false limits of our strength, well-being, and perseverance that we can push through? What is the source of our resilience?
Jesus experienced these same questions and limitations as you and I.
And this is the same question that all great fiction explores. Great writers answer the question: What does it mean to be human?
Great fiction helps us to see the author’s idea of the limits of human goodness. It helps us to experience the author’s understanding of selflessness, of brokenness, of hope.
That’s what we celebrate and explore in fiction. That’s why fiction is so important. That’s why fiction, even if it’s not “about Jesus,” can help us to understand and imitate Christ.
Jesus came and lived the legitimate human experience—his intimate understanding of our experience is without limitation. Great fiction helps us to do the same.
And for the same reason, that’s exactly why secular fiction can do the opposite. The author’s answer to that question, “What does it mean to be human?” is far more dangerous than any sex, violence, or profanity they might employ.
Even good fantasy and science fiction juxtapose our humanity against that which is not human. Sometimes the best way to discover what it means to be human is to look at it through the eyes of that which is not human.
Speculative fiction asks questions like how would our morality change if we knew that we were immortal beings? What would “humanity” look like for beings that fully understood their supernatural power? If we lived long enough to see how culture changes, what would we see that stays the same through all ages?
But we can only help our readers imitate Christ if we’re writing with our eyes fully fixed on Him.
Paul once said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, my paraphrase)
And where did Paul get that idea? From imitating Christ! Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (John 5:19)
How did Jesus live a sinless human life, despite being fully man? His eyes were fully affixed on the Father. How did He share the breadth of the human experience without succumbing to it? He only did what He saw the Father doing.
How will you share the breadth and depth of the human experience with your readers? How will you answer that question, “What does it mean to be human?” in a way that is real and honest and doesn’t shy away from reality but somehow points people to Jesus even if it’s not really about Jesus? How will you do all of that and still walk in the light?
By fixing your eyes fully on Jesus. Just as Jesus is fully fixed on the Father.
Christmas is about so much more than the cute story of the baby in the manger, no crying he makes, and all that jazz. It’s about a God who gave up all the rights and privileges of His Divinity to become fully human for a time.
Christmas celebrates a God who knows the human experience and chose to share it with us.
That’s a very good God.
As we move into the coming year, I encourage you to imitate Christ in your writing. What is God placing on your heart to say about what it means to be human?
And what does it mean to be a human whose eyes are fixed on Jesus?
