Did God Come for a Visit?
By faith, I believe mine did
The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, CEB)
The dawn from heaven came to us in the same manner as all humanity does, through a woman’s uterus. The woman’s name was Mary. At the very point of inception, God came to visit earth, to become flesh and blood, fully God and fully human. Mary gave birth and called Him Jesus. Jesus grew, learned from the knee of His earthly father and mother, went through puberty, and aged to become a man.
You will tell his people how to be saved through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us, to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace. (Luke 1: 77–79, CEB)
He was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, God Jehovah coming to those sitting in the darkness of the shadow of death. He turned on the light so we could see the path of peace, love, forgiveness, and kindness. His way seemed different, but it was not; it was God’s Son giving revelation of the Abba Father.
God is love; He let us see that through the Human One, Jesus. God came because of our pitiful attempts to appease Him through laws and blood sacrifice. We thought we were soothing an angry God when, in reality, we were the ones who were angry, bitter, and resentful.
Who alienated themselves? Not God from us, but us from God. Who needed appeasing? Not God, who is self-sufficient and perfect in every way. We needed appeasing.
Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions. (Colossians 1:21, CEB)
The Abba Father would give His children what they wanted, a gruesome blood sacrifice. It was a plan laid before the foundations of the world and birthed out of His great compassion for us.
God’s world was beautifully perfect, but sin defiled what God had made. God visited this filthy world as Jesus to repair our broken communion and relationship with Him. God never withdrew from us, but we separated ourselves from Him.
Our sinfulness affected our relationship with others and our relationship with God. It was easier to separate ourselves because we didn’t know how to change ourselves. We tried laws to make ourselves worthy by adhering to all the rules, but that was burdensome and impossible.
It was difficult to accept that God was not a vengeful, wrathful King but a meek and mild Savior who willingly laid down His life for us. Christ helped us escape our hiding place of shame, disgrace, fear, and guilt. He never burdened us but instead asked us to lay our heavy burdens on Him. He has always been our greatest champion.
Yes, God came for a visit, but He not only had an appointment with humanity, but also desires a personal appointment with you. He is not so lofty as to not know you personally.
God wants to establish residency in the heart of every man, woman, and child. His birth planted a seed, but His death and resurrection established His kingdom. You see, He did not only come for a visit in the flesh, but He remains as our Spirit of comfort, encouragement, strength, love, peace, and so much more.
The greatest love ever given was when God became flesh and lived among us. Do you serve a God like that?
