# PonderIt

## Sunday, June 10, 2007

### God Gains a Mortal Perspective

My children experience pain that is, for them, very real. A toy taken away during meals. A video game ended for bedtime. Permission denied for a favorite treat. While I know how silly the pain and the tantrum are, I can't deny the reality of the emotion for them. From my perspective as a father, I know that the pain will pass quickly and will ultimately mold them into better, more disciplined adults.
What was it like for the mortal Jesus? He lived many aspects of the mortal existence, and yet he seemed to have the vast perspective of a god. He could understand men's thoughts. He could perceive events in distant locations. It seems he went through mortality without really experiencing the temporary despair that is such a normal part of life for the rest of us.
Until Gethsemane.
In that place, he had an opportunity to feel total despair and aloneness. I wonder if he finally had an opportunity to temporarily lose his eternal perspective and feel totally "in the moment" the way the rest of us do when we are in pain. Because of what he suffered, he truly understands us and knows how to help and lift us. I don't understand how the atonement works, but I'm grateful for its effects.

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