“So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.”
I do not know if you have ever encountered an angel, but those who have never described them as timid beings, or as small fat children as is often depicted by the Catholic Church. When they appear in the Bible they struck terror into people. Ezekiel used intense and bizarre imagery to describe what he saw. They are described as having abilities that instantly wiped out armies and a whole generation of first born sons. One thing that is for sure is that they are not to be taken lightly.
So let us remember that Jesus is a man; He came into a body just like yours and mine. He had to deal with the same issues that we face. Let us remember that He, as God, chose to humble Himself to become like us in order to save us. So Jesus, God as a man, has now become more superior than those intense angelic beings you see in the Bible. Is that not a crazy thought? That what is fundamentally a weak human body (compared to an angel) has been lifted up and is far more superior and far more excellent than them.
That is what the self sacrificial love that Jesus showed us did. It lifted Him up to a position of superiority in the heavens and it is our ultimate blessing that we receive His grace and we can choose to follow in His ways and be obedient to Him. Note, it is a free choice that we now have to obey or disobey Him.
Today, reflect on the fact that it is a human body, one like mine and yours, that has now been lifted up above all of the heavenly beings. That is the Man I choose to follow. Who will you choose to follow today?
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