Devotion:
Read John 1:14-18.
One of the greatest statements in the history of humanity is this: “...the Word became flesh and lived among us…” My favorite way of restating that comes from the Bible translation known as The Message: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” God was willing to move in close to us, to live among us, to experience life in a body like ours and face the vulnerabilities humans deal with every day. It is another way God showed all of us humans for all time how much God loves us and how important we are to God. Think about it: for somebody to move into your neighborhood, they must think a lot of you and those around you.
Not only did Christ move into our neighborhood, he chose to move into one of our most humble settings. He could have chosen to be born to a wealthy family who lived in the best section of Jerusalem. But he chose to be part of a poor family in the little town of Bethlehem. It really is an amazing part of our story that says so much about our God and what God thinks of you and me and everybody else.
In Psalm 8 at verse 4, the writer has been marveling at the expanse of God’s creation and then asks this question: “what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” He goes on to answer that question in the following verses. But at Christmas, I think we find God giving another answer: “I care enough to become one of them.”
Personal Worship Option:
One of my favorite Christmas hymns is Charles Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Verse two speaks to this God who became one of us:
Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come, offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
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