On The Incarnation

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…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…And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
(John 1:1, 14,16)

To feel and comprehend the magnitude of the birth of Christ, one need only to turn to the Holy Scriptures where God lays forth His redeeming plan of salvation, giving hope and light to the depraved souls that walk the earth. Before time even began, God knew that eventually sin would enter the perfect world He would soon create. He knew that man, not perfect, because He and He alone is perfect, would fall prey to the temptations given under the domain of darkness and that redemption would have to be accomplished. He also knew, however, that the only path to true glorifying redemption would be a perfect sacrifice, without reproach, that would bear the darkness of the wretched world. Therefore, because of the fullness of His immeasurable grace and truth, God himself entered the world that He would become this perfect sacrifice the world so desperately needed.

The beauty of the incarnation, God coming to dwell among us so that we might be presented blameless before Him clothed in His righteousness and glory, lies within the incarnation itself. Through the conception of the Holy Spirit, God entered this world in the form of a man, named Jesus Christ; Three persons in one; the Trinity fully embodied. Oh the power and majesty of the person of Jesus Christ. Where else can one see a clearer picture of the work of the Trinity than in the birth and life of Jesus Christ? The Son, begotten of the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit leading a perfect and blameless life so that He could become the sacrifice needed to cleanse the sins of the world!

Christ himself was not a creation of the Father. He was the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit’s conception in the womb of a virgin named Mary, thus starting the journey of God’s miraculous plan of salvation being fully unveiled, a journey that has yet to end.

On a cold and bitter night, the lack of room for the son of God to be born began to foreshadow the lack of room in the hearts of the world He had come to save. Being born of a woman, fully human, yet fully God, Christ entered the world in the lowliest of lows; being born in a stable and placed in a manger. One can only imagine the glory bestowed from within the newborn babe as he lay helpless in a world that He would soon save. The innocent cries of the infant would soon become that of tears of blood just mere years later as His prayer to His Father tells of the redemptive work being made complete, “I glorified you on this earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:4-5) God entered this world through Jesus Christ for one purpose, to bring righteousness to the sons of man, through the perfect life He led and atoning sacrifice He gave to glorify Him more fully.

As we look towards the nativity, as we look to the birth of Christ and recognize the power of the incarnation, let us also be quick to look at what the incarnation began. It began a journey to a cross. One that the Son of God would bear, taking on the sins of the world that we might be heirs and inherit the kingdom of God for all eternity, being with Him in glory. As we sing these great songs of joy and hope, telling of the Messiah and His coming, let us be quick to feel the magnitude of the grace that was given through the incarnation of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us and let us not lose hope because our Messiah will be returning and what a glorious day it will be when we are taken with Him in glory as heirs in His blood bought righteousness.

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Currently Reading

I've recently added a section to the right under my name where you can see the books that I'm currently reading. It's a neat tool from a website called Library Thing which I encourage you to check out sometime. You can input your whole library and keep track of what you're reading, what you want to read, create reviews of books you've read and many other neat resources. I'll try to post my thoughts on the books as I finish them and let you know which ones are really worth reading.

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Kingdom People Christmas Giveaway

Trevin Wax has a great Christmas Giveaway through Christmas Day over at Kingdom People. I just stumbled upon his blog, but definitely one I'm going to start following. You can check out the giveaway here.

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We Are Here (Christmas)

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Mohler on Starting What You Cannot Finish

In honor of commencement ceremonies across the country and more specifically at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler reflects on the meaning of a commencement ceremony and the world's pull of finishing what we begin. In his article, Mohler writes:

Nevertheless, the biblical conception of the Christian ministry is, as we should not be surprised to find, radically at odds with worldly wisdom. According to the New Testament, one of the most important insights about the Christian ministry is this: We will not finish what we begin. This is not to say that we will never set goals and reach them or that we will never complete plans and programs. It does mean that the Christian ministry must be seen in the context of faithfulness extended from generation to generation until Christ returns to claim his Bride.

This was a great challenge to me, as was the article in its entirety. Perhaps the part that challenged me the greatest and that I hope will stay with me in the remaining days God has ordained for me on this earth was his final call to those graduating from Southern:

Start something you cannot finish and give yourself to it for the length of your days, with the strength of your life, to the glory of God. Dream dreams and see visions, and take up this calling as you plant and water in the fields of Christ. Build carefully upon the foundation laid for you. The hopes and prayers of God's faithful people go with you.

May this encourage and move you as deeply as it did myself and may you go out with boldness, willing to start something you may not be able to finish, or with courage to build on that of which someone who has gone before you has already begun.

You can read the rest of Mohler's article here.

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