Fully human

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way

Hebrews 2:17

What does it mean to be fully human? Each society has to grapple with that question as it seeks to mould its various communities in an acceptable way. The answer to this question, whether explicitly or implicitly considered, will impact how societies develop. We only need to consider Nazi Germany in the thirties to realise that your view of what it is to be human can have profound and fundamental consequences.

The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus 'had' to be like us and that he was 'fully human in every way.' So, Jesus is fully God and fully human, we are not fully God, but we are fully human. There was no other option for Jesus to pursue, he became human, not for a short period but for all eternity, to fulfil his father's will

To be human is to:

• Exist in one place at one time
• Be made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc
• Be unable to cause yourself to come into existence 
• Be created from the DNA of a father and a mother
• Have various needs
• Oxygen
• Food
• Water
• Rest 
• Light
• Shelter
• Be loved by God
• Have intrinsic moral value
• Be part of a family / community
• To love and to love

To answer the question 'What is a Human Being?', has also been answered in various other ways

"An intelligence served by organs." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"But breath and shadow, nothing more." (Sophocles)

"The only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be." (William Hazlitt)

"The only animal that contemplates death, and also the only animal that shows any sign of doubt of its finality." (William Ernest Hocking)

"The only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve." (Erich Fromm)

"The only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied." (Henry George)

If we want to know what it is to be human, the best way is to look at and learn from Jesus