Being Like God

Perhaps a large part of human suffering begins when we try to occupy a place that never belonged to us.

In recent days, a sequence of situations led me to a reflection that brought great peace to my heart.

I watched people trying to fix problems.

Trying to speed up decisions.

Trying to control outcomes.

Trying to relieve suffering.

Trying to change one another's perception.

And, at a certain moment, I realized something both uncomfortable and freeing.

I was doing exactly the same thing too.

I wanted to resolve situations that did not depend on me.

I wanted to produce peace where there was anxiety.

I wanted to produce trust where there was fear.

I wanted to produce understanding where there was disagreement.

It was then that an ancient story came back to my mind.

Perhaps the oldest of them all.

The first temptation: being like God

The first temptation recorded in the Bible was not the pursuit of money.

It was not the pursuit of pleasure.

It was not the pursuit of political power.

It was something much deeper.

“You will be like God.”Genesis 3:5

This sentence seems to run through all of human history.

Because it keeps echoing inside us to this day.

We want to control the future.

We want to control people.

We want to control processes.

We want to control outcomes.

We want to determine the timing of things.

We want to define what must happen.

We want to correct what we judge to be wrong.

We want to carry responsibilities that were never given to us.

In short:

we want to be like God.

A temptation that is still alive

Perhaps this temptation never left the garden.

It only changed its appearance.

Sometimes it shows up as pride.

Sometimes as power.

But, many times, it comes dressed in good intentions.

It appears as concern.

As zeal.

As responsibility.

As love.

As a sincere desire to help.

We want to relieve someone's suffering.

We want to speed up someone's maturing.

We want to produce trust in someone.

We want to convince someone.

We want to resolve what only God can resolve.

And we end up suffering because we have taken on a role that was never given to us.

This is exactly what I realized.

I can give counsel.

I can listen.

I can love.

I can serve.

But I cannot trust on behalf of another person.

I cannot rest on behalf of another person.

I cannot walk with God on behalf of another person.

That part belongs to them.

And it belongs to God.

The great contrast

This is where Jesus enters the story in a surprising way.

Because the human being wanted to be like God.

But God, in Christ, became man.

“Let your attitude be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, though being God, did not consider that being equal with God was something to hold on to; but emptied himself… becoming like men; and recognized in human form…”Philippians 2:5-8

What an extraordinary contrast.

The serpent said:

“Go up.”

Christ came down.

The serpent offered a throne.

Christ took a towel and washed feet.

The serpent promised power.

Christ revealed service.

Man wanted to take God's place.

God took man's place.

The true human being

Perhaps Jesus did not come only to reveal who God is.

Perhaps he also came to reveal who the human being was created to be.

When we look at his life, we do not find someone trying to control people.

We do not find someone imposing transformations.

We do not find someone manipulating consciences.

We find someone serving.

Loving.

Healing.

Teaching.

Inviting.

Jesus did not lead people by force.

He led by love.

The rich young man walked away.

Judas went his own way.

Many disciples abandoned him.

Even so, Jesus kept on serving.

Because he did not come to control hearts.

He came to reveal the heart of the Father.

Christ in us

Perhaps that is why Paul wrote:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”Colossians 1:27

The call of the gospel is not that we become gods.

The call is that Christ be formed in us.

That God's goodness be revealed through us.

That the fruit of the Spirit appear in our lives.

That we learn to serve.

That we learn to love.

That we learn to trust.

We are not called to occupy the throne.

We are called to carry the towel.

We are not called to omission.

We are called to humble cooperation.

We do what is ours to do.

But we leave with God what only God can do.

Rest

Perhaps God's rest begins exactly here.

When we finally realize that we are not God.

We do not need to control the future.

We do not need to change people.

We do not need to carry other people's lives.

We do not need to hold up the world.

We can serve.

We can love.

We can sow.

We can walk alongside.

But it is God who convinces.

It is God who transforms.

It is God who leads.

There is a deep peace in this discovery.

Because the great mistake of human beings is still the same as in Eden:

The revelation

And the great revelation of Jesus is still the same:

Interestingly, our language reveals some inversions.

Expressions like “rest in peace“ or “he was taken to Christ“ often cause discomfort.

As if resting were losing life.

As if belonging to Christ were losing freedom.

But perhaps exactly the opposite happens.

The serpent promised freedom when he offered man the possibility of being like God.

But the result was fear, shame, anxiety and suffering.

Christ offers another way.

Perhaps true freedom begins when Christ is formed in us.

“My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”Galatians 4:19

Perhaps it is at that moment that we stop trying to take God's place.

Perhaps it is at that moment that we begin to discover who we were truly created to be.

And perhaps that is exactly why John wrote:

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been made manifest what we shall be…”1 John 3:2

There are moments when a work does not end because everything has been explained.

It ends because what needed to be seen has finally become clear.

And, when that happens, there is no longer any need to add weight.

There is only gratitude.

There is rest.

There is silence.

There is peace.