At Easter, Here Is What To Know About Jesus

Jesus’ behavior in the Gospels provides a living demonstration of the dynamics involved in balanced human behavior. Even approaching his crucifixion, the fully human and fully divine Jesus expresses himself on each compass point of the Self Compass, without getting stranded on any of them. 

Jesus' Last Supper

LOVE

As Jesus nears his passion week, his expression of the Love compass point intensifies. “Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (Jn 13:1). John, the beloved disciple, devotes five chapters of his Gospel to record all the words Jesus uttered at the Last Supper (Jn 13-17). This profoundly intimate conversation is shared with the disciples, but extends beyond them to all who call upon the name of Christ. 

From these words, all of us can learn that: 

1. Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet shows what love looks like in action.
2. Anyone who truly loves Jesus will carry out his teachings, opening their interior lives to receive the Father’s love for them.
3. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will make their home within those who love Jesus and follow his commandments, bringing an inner peace the world cannot take away.
4. His command is this: “Love each other as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).
5. Jesus is the vine and his followers are the branches who bear the fruit of faithful love as they abide in Christ.
6. Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of humanity, “that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (Jn 17:26).

For good reason Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, a name that reflects the Love compass point. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11). From the cross he forgives even those who crucify him, flinging open the door to salvation for anyone who walks through it. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

Christ's Self Compass

ASSERTION

Understanding Christ requires not only perceiving the depth of his love, but also respecting the power of his assertion. Christ expresses the Assertion compass point when he disperses the Galilean crowd who are so impressed by his feeding of the five thousand they try to declare him king, rebukes the disciples who want to call down fire upon a Samaritan village for rejecting Jesus, and challenges the Sanhedrin during his trumped-up trial.

In other words, Jesus has no trouble saying what he thinks, acting in congruence with his identity, and standing up for the Son of God’s evaluation of people’s true motives. In this spirit, the book of Revelation describes Christ as the Lion of Judah, a name that provides an operational description of his Assertion compass point.

WEAKNESS

From the Weakness compass point, approaching his passion week, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, for the people neither honor his teaching nor recognize the presence of the Messiah in their midst.

If there is any doubt as to Jesus’ humanity, or his willingness to suffer, he falls to the ground in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death” (Mk 14:34). Once he passes through this turmoil and self-doubt, Jesus surrenders to the Father’s will that requires his humiliation and crucifixion. 

On the cross in the hour of his fully human death, he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46), perhaps aligning himself with every human being who has ever felt broken and forsaken. Christ’s name from the Weakness compass point is the Lamb of God.

STRENGTH

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah employs these strength-oriented titles to describe Jesus Christ, the Messiah: Prince of Peace, Mighty Counselor, Savior, and Lord of Lords. 

Jesus himself declares in strength: 

• “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 
• “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9). 
• “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). 
• “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

When his last Passover arrives, though Jesus knows that heading to Jerusalem means he will die as a criminal, he sets his face like flint, determined to carry out the Father’s will. 

And what is the Father's will? That his Son, Jesus Christ, this God-person, who died for our sins, is resurrected  by the power of the Holy Spirit to sit at the right hand of God the Father. 

Resurrected Jesus

In Christ Jesus, then, lies the Trinity Easter gift to humanity; a gift waiting at the door of every individual’s heart: the gift of a whole personality, intimately connected to God. The gift of interpersonal selfhood through Jesus Christ the Lord. 

Christ's Compass for Couples

Jesus commands us to love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). 

This is a tall order. How do you do that, especially when it comes to the daily complications of a couples relationship?

But Jesus doesn’t leave you hanging. He gives you clues by the way He lives his life as described in the Gospels. Clues to a healthy personality that help you relate to one another in Christlike ways, yet unique to you as a couple.

How can couples do this in the 21st century? Enter the Self Compass. Based both on Jesus’ personality and modern psychological research, the Self Compass steers couples toward man/woman intimacy. 

The Self Compass

The Self Compass helps reveal what Jesus' personality is like. In the Gospel accounts of his life on Earth, Jesus showed us the model of a perfect personality. Unlike the rest of us, Jesus was perfectly loving—a good friend to Peter and John. But he wasn’t loving all the time. Jesus balanced his Love with Assertion—by standing up against the Pharisees when he saw injustice and unfairness, for example. 

Jesus also revealed healthy Weakness—he was humble of heart, a servant who washed his disciples’ feet. He sweat blood, contemplating his crucifixion. Yet this vulnerability was balanced by Strength—to act according to his Father’s will and a confidence in his identity as the Son of man.

Love in balance with Assertion; Weakness in balance with Strength. Together they form Christ’s Self Compass. A Self Compass: a compass that contains Christ’s LAWS to act as your guide to a healthy and whole marriage.

What does Christ's Self Compass look like? 

Christ's Self Compass

Christ’s various names indicate the balance drawn from his own Self Compass. On the Love compass point, he is known as the Good Shepherd—tender, kind, and nurturing. On the Assertion compass point, he is the Lion of Judah found in the book of Revelation; Christ stands against injustice of every kind, and will judge the quick and dead based on their pursuit of righteousness or lack thereof. On the Weakness compass point, Jesus is the Lamb of God, who willingly laid down his life to redeem all who call upon him. And on the Strength compass point he is the Prince of Peace who died in weakness and was raised from the dead in strength and glory.

The Compass LAWS of a Christ-centered Marriage

Love and Assertion; Weakness and Strength. These are compass points that show the contrasting polarities in your personality. Love isn’t better than assertion, and strength isn’t better than weakness. Healthy people express both tender care and diplomatic assertion. They are competent and strong, yet humbly aware of their weakness. In a well-balanced marriage, couples maintain free and rhythmic access to all four compass points of their Self Compass.

Love is kindness. Thoughtfulness. Forgiveness. Tenderness. Compassion. Fondness. Faithfulness. Friendship. Sacrifice. In the development of healthy personality and relationships, Christ gave priority to loving one’s self, others, and God.

But no one remains loving all the time, nor is it healthy to do so. While love lets you stand with-and-for your partner, Assertion is required so as not to lose yourself.

 

Assertion gives you the courage to express your point of view or challenge what you perceive as unfair in your relationship. Diplomatic assertion preserves your individual differences as a couple and helps you develop the skill of negotiating for your reasonable rights. All couples experience bouts of anger or discontent, when your interests rub against the wishes of your spouse. But when you combine assertion in rhythm with caring, the diplomacy that results will help you reach successful conflict resolution.

Weakness reflects the human experience of uncertainty, vulnerability, and soul-searching. The weakness compass point helps a couple develop humility and empathy for one another. It allows the expression of disappointment, anxiety, depression, or helplessness.

Strength reflects the human need for competence and adequacy. Each partner needs to feel appreciated by the other; to be seen as worthy, capable; to be treated with dignity.

When a couple rhythmically modulates the compass points of Love with Assertion, and Weakness with Strength, their relationship develops the balancing grace of compass virtues: 

• Love brings forth charity. 
• Assertion yields courage. 
• Weakness fosters humility. 
• Strength develops esteem.

Jesus Christ

With the help of the Self Compass, you develop a whole and healthy marriage when you center your marriage in Jesus Christ and on His personality.