What if Jesus...?

A young boy walks home after a long day at school. His friends are now already safe in the arms of their parents, he still has a little while to go. He looks ahead of him and sees a large oak tree. He sighs. He knows exactly what, or who, is hiding behind that tree and the bruises from the other day are a constant reminder of what happens when he passes that tree. He silently prays to his father for protection. A sense of peace rushed over him, and a smile crosses his face. The last few steps before the oak tree are confident ones.

As he walks past the oak tree, two large boys grab his belt and pull him behind the tree. He stays silent.

"You shouldn't walk home alone." one of the boys threatens. "It's not safe, you know."

"Yeah." The other boy hisses "you could get seriously hurt...Jesus."

Jesus keeps his cool. It's not the first time that this has happened. Being the son of God had its downsides. Jesus knew that all it took was one word, and everything that God, the Spirit and himself had planned would fail. Jesus had seen what would happen if he failed, and for that to happen to his children, he wouldn't be able to bear it.

The two boys throw him to the ground.

"Think you're so special? Think you're so perfect. Well guess what? You're not. You're just some stupid kid who can't stand up to himself."

The kid throws a punch. Pain ripples through Jesus' cheek. He may be God's son, but every last bit of pain is felt to help understand the ones he loves.

"No one loves you. No one cares. Not your parents, not your friends, not even God loves you. You're worthless, totally worthless."

The other kid kicks him. A scream threatens to escape Jesus' mouth, but he withstands the pain, biting his tongue so hard he could taste blood.

The boys continue hitting and kicking Jesus for what seemed like hours, until they got bored of Jesus' reactions, or non reactions, and run off

After the bullies stop, Jesus stands up. He looks over to them, as they run off. He sees their hearts...cold, lonely, hurting. Jesus' heart breaks for them. These incidents just make Jesus want to protect them even more. He is physically hurt, the bruises will show tomorrow, but his heart his pure, the boys are forgiven, just the way Jesus has forgiven them every other time that this has happened. If only they knew…knew how much they were loved. Then their pain and suffering would stop and their lives would become immensely better. If only they knew...