When you get to a certain age, the battle of the bulge becomes more wearisome and troublesome to take on. I have had my share of gaining unwanted pounds as well as the experience of shedding them (thankfully), prompting comments from relatives from my mother’s side, “You never seem to gain weight.”

I just answer, “I get it from my father’s side.”

“Your skin is so white!” they would add.

“Father’s side.”

We all have traits that we get from one parent that makes us stand out from the other parent’s side. Jesus also had them. From the Father’s side, He was God; from the mother’s side, he was human, creating a great paradox.

From the mother’s side, he was born (Lk. 2:7),

from the Father’s side, He had no beginning (Jn. 8:58).

From the mother’s side, he grew in wisdom (Lk. 2:52),

from the Father’s side, He is the source of all truth (Col. 2:3).

From the mother’s side, he experienced being physically tired (Jn.4:6),

from the Father’s side, He healed many people (Jn. 4:43-54, Mt.8:14-15, Mk. 1:40-45)

and raised people from the dead (Lk. 7:11-17, Jn. 11:1-45).

From the mother’s side, he experienced thirst (Jn. 19:28),

from the Father’s side, he is the Living Water (Jn. 7:37-39).

From the mother’s side, he experienced hunger (Mt. 4:2),

from the Father’s side, He is the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35).

From the mother’s side, he wept (Jn. 11:35),

from the Father’s side, He will wipe away all our tears (Rev. 21:4).

From the mother’s side, he bled (Jn. 15:34),

from the Father’s side, His blood cleanses us from all sins (1 Jn. 1:7).

From the mother’s side, he traveled on a boat (Mk. 4:35-40),

from the Father’s side, He walked on water (Mt. 14:25).

From the mother’s side, he died (1 Pt. 3:18),

from the Father’s side, He is the Life (Jn. 14:6)

and most importantly, He is risen and is alive forevermore (Rev. 1:18).

Although Jesus had a Father’s and mother’s side, don’t think He was a supernatural mestizo, half-God and half-man. He was no minotaur. He was fully God (Col. 2:9) and fully man otherwise He could not fully save us because He wouldn’t be God enough to save us, and human enough to be our substitute. And know what? He remains fully God and fully man because He never did shed His humanity even when he ascended into heaven. This means He continues to understand what we are going through as He intercedes for us (1 Jn. 2:1, Heb. 7:25). And He will continue to do so in order that when people see us, they will see the Father’s side in us---and only His side.