God Became Man

The Christmas story is in fact a strange one. On a night about two-thousand years ago, God became man. Born of the Virgin Mary in the town of Bethlehem, Jesus was (and still is) God in the flesh. That Christmas story gives rise to the Christmas message.  So it's worth asking: What is the message of Christmas? A few thoughts follow.

1. God has assumed human nature not just to see what it’s like. That would be like a lifeguard jumping into a pool in which a man is drowning, not to save the man but to experience what it's like getting wet.  The true lifeguard jumps into the pool to save the man who's drowning.  Just so, God has assumed human nature in order to redeem that nature and save human life from sin, death, and the grip of the devil.

2. Though the world be dark, “the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Though the world be filled with unrest, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Those who cling to Christ through the obedience of faith see the divine Light, even in the midst of the world’s darkness. They rest in the divine Peace, even in the midst of the world’s unrest.

3. Apart from Christ, the humility and mortality of man hangs a question mark over human existence. Does human life – its ups and downs, its being hemmed in by death – have any meaning? Is there a God? If so, does He care? In Christ, those questions are answered: yes, human life is eternally significant; yes, there is one true God; and yes, this “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son.” (John 3:16)

4. Christ is confirmation of the fact that God is not some crazy tyrant whose will is utterly untrustworthy, but rather the God of love and reason whose will is utterly good. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me." (John 14:1)

5. In Christ, the humility of man has been forever joined to the glory of God, and the mortality of man to the immortality of God. Therefore, in Christ, the humble see God’s glory and the dead are raised to new life.

6. As said above, God has redeemed human nature in Jesus Christ. But what's the appropriate human response? “Turn to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)

7. Turning from lust for idols to the love of God, ordinary people actually participate in the divine nature: “Thus He has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)

8. Ultimately, the Christmas message is that God became man. Why? So that men (and women) might become gods - participants, that is, in the divine nature.  Such participation comes not by way of some worldly achievement, but by Way of the humble Christ - by Way of faith, hope, and love.

The incarnation is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. All reflections of mine aside, the following is worth hearing over and over again: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Merry Christmas.