John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
What a wonderful time it must have been to be physically present when Jesus was born. Did he arrive loudly crying, or quiet and content? Was he a large, chunky baby, or fairly small and slight in build? How in the world did this virgin, Mary, feel? Did she experience any pain delivering Jesus? How might she have felt afterward during her recovery period in a barn-like area, versus in a warm hospital delivery room? I try hard to recreate the images in my mind but fall short.
To imagine the Son of Almighty God being born this way is puzzling and makes me hope to one day see a replay in heaven sometime after I’ve arrived.
This whole occurrence shows the awesome humility of God. I mean, we’re talking about someone who created the Universe and all that there is, arriving in a human body as a baby to grow, dwell, and die among mankind. This is someone whose Spirit is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent arriving in a way where he might more easily relate to us and save us. He’s just so amazing!
Philippians 2:6-7 describes Him so fittingly, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Yet in other places, like Psalm 29, we see God described as one who “thunders,” whose voice “breaks cedars,” “strikes with flashes of lightning,” and “shakes the desert.” This same power split the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to cross over among other incredible things. He remains an astounding person of many miracles.
Christmas means so much when we take time to get quiet and think about Christ and his coming then; not to mention again, later. It doesn’t matter what day we celebrate, but that we do commemorate his birth–which I find to be an excellent idea. We do this in various ways of celebration, but especially by giving, as there was no greater gift given to us than Jesus, Immanuel–God with us.
Moreover, though the time came that he would suffer in his body and leave the earth for a while, he gave us the great gift and privilege of being a part of his family. We’ve become children of his Father whom we now call our Father. So presently, we like Jesus, can do the things our Father desires.
We who have accepted and love the Lord, are the Body of Christ. His Spirit lives in us and will forever be with us. In the not-too-distant future, we will see Him in his bodily form, as He has prepared a place for us and will take us to live with Him where He is as stated in John 14:3.
There is indeed much that can be taught relating to this awe-inspiring occurrence of the Lord’s arrival. Yet I’ll be content to remember: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. …” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Ms. Rita's Minute 