The Word Became Flesh
John 1:14 (ESV) 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Advent
awakens wonder in me, childlike wonder. As a little boy growing up in
West-Texas, I loved the Christmas season, lights, decorations, carols, movies,
food, and the presents combined to create a sense of wonder and enchantment
which made the Holiday Season special. As I aged, my understanding of Advent
deepened. Christmas took on a more nuanced meaning. Do not misunderstand me,
all the Christmas traditions still thrill me. Sometime in the next few days, I
will drive around Lubbock enjoying all the lights. My scale reminds me that I
still love holiday foods. Each evening Christy and I still enjoy our
traditional favorite Christmas movies…and some new ones. But now, Advent
introspections push me in a different, hopefully, deeper, direction.
During
Advent, the miracle of the Incarnation, and all its attendant implications,
consumes my thought-life. During the past two millennia, theologians have
struggled mightily to understand the Incarnation with varying degrees of
success. I cannot expect to add anything new to the mighty pile, but the
marvelous wonder of Advent compels me to try. That God would send His son,
stripping Him of His might, glory, and incandescence, to live as one of us, His
creation, amazes me. As a soldier, I lived and moved in a rank-conscious world.
We worked hard for every promotion and cherished the honors that came with
them. Freely setting them aside never entered our minds, not for a moment. But
Jesus willingly set them aside and entered His creation as one of the created to
rub shoulders and truly get His hands, now that He had them, dirty. Most of us
would not willingly give up our parking spaces, much less transcendent creative
power. Jesus endured time’s greatest downgrade to save me. He traveled from the
palaces of heaven to a straw-lined manger so that I might live.
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