God With Us

Immanuel

The incarnation of Jesus is something that I don’t think I will ever be able to get over. My mind can’t fully wrap around the idea of God taking on human flesh. Jesus is just as much God as He is man. He isn’t half-and-half. How is that even possible? I don’t think our human brains are designed to understand it.

Christmas is the celebration of this act: God becoming flesh. Over 2,000 years ago, a baby’s cry rang out in the night and forever changed the world. Before Jesus, there was only darkness. There was no hope. No solution to cure the curse of sin and separation from God. But on that night, something happened:

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness… (John 1:14)

That baby was hope in bodily form. A way had been provided to bring man back to God. He was the light. He was the change we needed.

It’d have been one thing if Jesus took on flesh to come to the world to rule it immediately. It would be have one thing for Him to just come down and snap His fingers and fix everything. But that’s not what happened. He came in the form of a helpless baby. A baby born to a girl who was not considered special by the world. He grew up in obscurity. Jesus didn’t come to earth and claim what was rightfully His…

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Phil. 2:7–8)

Not that is what I find to be most amazing… He gave up His glory and His seat at the side of the Father to come and die for me. He died when I was His enemy. While I was dead in my sin He came to my rescue! Now that is love. That is grace. That is something worth celebrating!

The Christmas season is a great time to be reminded of what Jesus did for us. It’s a great time to re-evaluate our lives and look deeply into our priorities. Jesus’ coming demands a response from us. We can’t think about it and not be changed. We must respond.

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Cor. 5:15)

We should live for Christ. He gave up everything for us; we should reciprocate. He is worthy of that.