While many of our Christmas celebrations have come to an end, our marveling at the incarnation should never cease. If anything, our awe, thankfulness, and praise regarding Christ becoming a man should get more intense.

John speaks almost in a riddle or mystery. He talks about the “Word” existing for all eternity.  This Word was with God from eternity past. Not only was he with God but he IS God. Through this Word all things were made (v. 3) and nothing has life apart from the Word (v. 4).

Then we come to one of my favorite verses in John.

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.
John 1:14

This verse marks the beginning of the grand finale of God’s plan of salvation. For centuries God had been preparing and orchestrating the way for the messiah to come. At times he would pull back the curtain just a bit so we could catch a glimpse of this promised Redeemer. He meticulously built the family line of Christ so that at the right time our Savior would be born to Mary and Joseph, an obscure little couple from an obscure little town. And when the time was right this “Word”, who took on flesh, died for our sins, satisfying the wrath of the Father.

Christ, who is the creator of all things (  ) became like his creatures. This is crazy! The more we try to wrap our brains around it the more outrageous this becomes. How can an infinite being confine himself in human flesh and bone? How can one who is outside of time step into time and live with those whom he created?

He left perfection for a fallen word. I don’t think we really understand the sacrifice in that since we have never experienced perfection. Our Jesus set his crown aside in order serve and put himself at the mercy of sin filled people in order to suffer injustice and murder to save his people.

What self denial! What self abasement! What self emptying! He, whom no infinitudes can hold, is contained within infant’s age, and infant’s form. Can it be, that the great “I AM THAT I AM” shrinks into our flesh?
Henry Law

We cannot walk away from our Christmas celebrations unmoved or unchanged. I know that many of us have heard the Christmas passages seemingly hundreds of times. It is easy to talk about the awesomeness of Christ’s birth in public but in private it produces yawns of boredom.  Let’s fight against the apathy that clouds our hearts. The fact that Christ took on flesh for us is only one part of the salvation story. Let’s meditate and learn about the perfect life he lived for us as he grew, and the death he faced to secure for us the love and forgiveness of God.

Looking To Jesus,

Our Next Study!

We invite you to join us January 12^th as we begin our new study: Made for Community!

Enrollment begins January 1^st and ends January 9^th.

We have some fun challenges and activities planned for our next study and can’t wait to get started with you! Invite your friends and family by sharing this image on Facebook and Instagram! (#LoveGodGreatly #MadeforCommunity)

Join us as we dig into scripture to see what God says about the importance of living in community with our families, the body of Christ, the local church, our communities and the world!

More details on Monday! Stay tuned!

Jen Thorn

Jen Thorn grew up in Germany and then spent her teenage years in Africa, where her parents were missionaries. She moved to the United States for college and attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she met her husband. They have been married for twenty-two years and have four children. Jen lives in the suburbs of Chicago, where her husband is the pastor of Redeemer Fellowship. Jen is passionate about theology and the connection to daily living.