Jedd sits down with Kelly Kapic, author of the new book, You’re Only Human. The two explore the freedom and other gifts found in embracing our human limitations and finiteness. Rooted in a rich vision of both creation and the incarnation, the conversation also offers practical ways to cultivate gratitude, rest and faithful service.
In this episode, we'll explore:
- How both Creation and the Incarnation affirm our human limitations as a gift rather than a deficiency.
- How acknowledging our finitude helps us delight more in others and their gifts.
- Why making productivity the highest value in our lives undermines our capacity to love.
- The importance of realistic expectations and awareness of different seasons in life.
- Why Christian humility is not foremost about sin, but our healthy dependence on God and others.
- The importance of community to living healthfully as finite creatures.
- What it means to live faithfully amidst limitations.
- Practical choices that help us live with a light-hearted sense of our own finitude.
Key Quotes
"Denying our finitude cripples our ability to love."
"Efficiency and productivity are not bad, but when they become our highest values, they rule out love."
"We think of ‘dependence’ as a bad word. But the reality is that even before the Fall, God created us to be dependent on Him, on one another, and on the earth."
"Since the very first temptation, we have chafed against our limits and finiteness. The first temptation was, ‘You shall be as gods.’"
"The fact that God is not embarrassed to enter into and become one with us as humans means that we should not be ashamed of our physical, finite bodies."
"Simply telling myself ‘I’ve done enough’ just never seems believable. But if I have another human look me in the eye and say, ‘Kelly, you need to be done…’ I can do it."
"If we look at all the needs of the world all on our own, we will always be overwhelmed, crushed."
"What God expects of the Church is more than any of us can do. And the way to solve that is not by me doing it all, nor by pretending that God doesn’t have these important things for us to do. The way to solve it is to see that it takes the entire Church, not just an individual, to do these things together."
"How you and I think about and experience sleep and rest is a great indicator of what we think God expects of us and what it means to be human."
"Sleep is an act of faith."
Resources and Guests
Husband, father, respected writer and speaker… beloved professor
Kelly M. Kapic is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He is the award-winning author or editor of more than 15 books, including Embodied Hope (IVP Academic, 2017), The God Who Gives (Zondervan Academic, 2018), and Becoming Whole with Brian Fikkert (Moody, 2019). Kapic is also part of a John Templeton Foundation grant studying “Christian Meaning-Making, Suffering, and the Flourishing Life.”
Jedd has seen (and experienced!) that lives are turned upside-down when Christians begin to reflect God’s heart through adoption, foster care and service to orphans worldwide. This kind of love transforms not only vulnerable children, but also those who open hearts and homes to them. Churches begin to look different, too, as the entire community pulls together for children who’ve known great hurt. Finally, the change touches even onlookers, who encounter the Gospel not only in words, but made visible before their eyes.
Desiring to spur this kind of transformation through the Church, Jedd serves as President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans.
Through CAFO, more than 225 respected organizations unite in shared initiatives, along with a wide network of churches. CAFO’s membership works in tandem to inspire and equip families, churches and organizations for effective service to vulnerable children and families — from adoption and US foster care, to aid and empowerment programs worldwide.
Prior to his this role, Jedd served in the White House as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, leading the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In this post, he oversaw reform efforts across the government to make community- and faith-based groups central partners in all Federal efforts to aid the needy, from prisoner reentry to global AIDS. As described by the Harvard Political Review, these reforms “fundamentally changed the government’s strategy for improving the lives of the downtrodden…”
Previously, Jedd held a range of posts in the California State Legislature. He also helped establish the California Community Renewal Project, which strengthens nonprofits in some of the state’s most challenged communities. He has worked, studied and served in more than thirty countries, with organizations ranging from Price-Waterhouse in Moscow to Christian Life Bangladesh.
Books written by Jedd include Upended and Four Souls. He also writes articles and op-eds for publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post to Comment Magazine, and engages radio interviews with both faith-based and mainstream outlets, from NPR and Al Jazeera to Moody Radio. Jedd’s most recent book, Becoming Home, offers a brief-yet-rich exploration of how families and communities can embrace vulnerable children with wisdom and love through adoption, foster care, mentoring and more.
