“Tender to be Human” – Brad Jersak

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“What a tender experience it is to be human.” ~Vincent Lin –

My friend Vincent knows. He is tender, experienced and human. His wisdom is always kind and, therefore, healing. We first met in a Zoom course I was leading through the Gospel of John. We stay in touch through email and through prayer. We’re from different cities and different cultures, but he would agree that we are, for each other, a safe place to share our hearts without fear of rejection or breaking trust. (So I won’t). 

I’ll only say that one day, after pouring out my heart with significant vulnerability, his simple response, “What a tender experience it is to be human,” left me teary and a bit breathless. It was such a beautiful acknowledgment of the frailty of the human condition, yet it came without any hint of judgment. It felt like medicine from the heart of Jesus, our human God who knows and understands from direct experience how frail and precious our existence is. 

As the Psalmist sang, “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14), and Jesus is “not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11). Again, in Vincent’s words, “What a tender experience it is to be human.”  

I can’t help but feel that some who read these words need to know that Jesus and at least two witnesses (Vincent and I) can say to your situation, however troubled or stuck, fraught or bewildering, “What a tender experience is your particular human life.” Hang in there, my friends. Jesus sees. And his heart is ever for you and toward you. You are loved.

~~~~~

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