You may have seen an advertisement recently with striking black and white photographs, thought-provoking statements, and the phrase “He Gets Us. All of Us.” During the Super Bowl, $20 million was spent to air two commercials, one saying Jesus wants us to be childlike, and the other saying “Jesus loved the people we hate.”
These commercials, billboards, ads, etc. are put out by an organization that states the following goal:
“Ultimately, we want people to know his teachings and how he lived while here on Earth. And this will be a starting point to understanding him and his message. Though we believe he was what Christians call fully God and fully man, that may not be what you believe. We’re simply inviting you to explore with us at He Gets Us how might things be different if more people followed his example.”
In describing their “agenda,” the organization says they are concerned with the animosity, strife, and division that characterizes much of current discussion in the culture, and their effort is designed “to move beyond the mess of our current cultural moment to a place where all of us are invited to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.”
What is that love story? The group states it this way:
“Throughout our shared history, Jesus has represented the ultimate good that humankind is capable of aspiring to. And though some no longer believe in God, most are still compelled by the idea of a person capable of unconditional love for others despite their differences.”
The two ads from the Super Bowl match up with that goal. The call to be childlike showed pictures and video of children sacrificing, caring for, and helping others, even those who might look difference from them. And the message that Jesus loved the people we hate is clearly a call to follow His example.
And who could watch those ads with an open mind and not have their consciences pricked as they consider how they have failed to practice that same level of love and compassion. When they feel that prick of conscience, what is the message they are given: He Gets Us. Jesus was “a man who taught and practiced unconditional love, peace, and kindness; who spent his life defending the poor and the marginalized; a man who even forgave his killers while they executed him unjustly.”
What does the organization want you to do with this example of Jesus?
“Whether you consider yourself a Christian, a believer in another faith, a spiritual explorer, or not religious or spiritual in any way, we invite you to hear about Jesus and be inspired by his example.”
As a follower of Jesus for many years, I can attest that his example is inspiring: I want to live as Jesus lived. But I can also tell you that it is impossible to completely follow his example. And as a parent, I can also tell you that living like a child will not lead to kindness, compassion, and love. Children have the same problem I do: we are naturally selfish and proud. Things like “hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, [and]envy” are merely the manifestations of our sinful nature (Gal 5:19-21).
“What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war” (James 4:1-2).
As much as Jesus’s example may inspire me, I will still fail to love those he loved, fail to forgive those who wronged me, and fail to sacrifice as I should for those in need.
But there is Good News. Jesus not only gets us as a fellow human—he is better than we could ever be since he is the perfect Son of God. He not only understands our temptations and weaknesses but also overcame them.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:14-15)
Though we have and will fail to live the lives we should, Jesus did not fail.
“He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly” (1 Pet 2:22-23).
And because Jesus lived a life of perfect goodness, because He Is Better Than Us, he was able to suffer and die in our place so that we might have our sins forgiven and be made new. He Can Save Us.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Pet 2:24-25
“Let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.” Heb 4:16
Yes, Jesus gets us. He “knows what we are made of.” But even better, if you are not merely inspired by his example but turn from your sin and trust in him, He Transforms Us.
He forgives all your iniquity;
he heals all your diseases.He redeems your life from the Pit;
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
He satisfies you with good things;
your youth is renewed like the eagle. Ps 103:3-5, 14
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17
