Jesus’ Mistakes

When Jesus came to earth, he came as a baby. He could have came as a grown man, as a spirit, or something impossible to understand, but he came as a tiny baby. 

Because Jesus was fully God and fully man, he navigated through the entire human experience. He was hungry, he was tired, he was sad, and he made mistakes. Yes, he made mistakes.

When Jesus was training to become a carpenter, he undoubtedly made mistakes. Cut things too short, mismeasured angles, made arithmetic errors, and worst of all, he definitely smashed his finger with a hammer. 

Though Jesus was without sin, he was not without error. Jesus lived a sinless life, which is the model for our Christian walk. I also contend that because he was born a baby and learned a trade and was taught worldly things that we can make a clear distinction between earthly perfection and holiness.

Our successes and failures on earth can fall into spiritual positives or negatives. If we make a bad choice and end up losing money, if we take the wrong job, or choose the wrong college major, these mistakes, in themselves and without sinful context, are not spiritual negatives. 

Imagine Jesus building a home addition and mistakenly made an error and something was built in a manner his client didn't want. Jesus would have an opportunity to fix his error and handle the situation correctly.  Jesus would make things right. 

I think, in our everyday life, we will make errors that God isn't so concerned about, I think he is more concerned with how we handle our errors and mature through the process. We should "work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23), and strive for exceptional work, but we must not assume a direct relationship between vocational failures and spiritual failures. 

I am not advocating a nonchalant attitude toward our vocations as a remedy to perfectionism/workaholism. As in most spiritual things, good can be corrupted by extremes. We should pray for and be aware of sinful nature, strive to do what is right, but allow mistakes to be a tool for spiritual progression.

On the flip side, vocational successes should also be seen for what they are. If a success is not rightly viewed, as a blessing from God, the error of security of standing creeps in. By security of standing, I mean to say that a person derives purpose, security, strength (I could continue ad nauseum) from occupational successes rather than from the right source (God).

Though sinless, Jesus' life and inherent vulnerability, give us a template for purposeful vocation and for graceful remediation of personal error. 


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