Blown Away by the Incarnation

On December 1, we received a wonderful Christmas gift—our first grandchild. I was blessed to visit the family for eight great days, including lots of time loving on her. Because of her birth’s proximity to Christmas, I often thought of the baby in the manger when I held her, and my mind was blown away by the truth of the incarnation.

How can God become a baby? How could he remain God and yet be totally dependent and helpless? How did Jesus grow in wisdom and knowledge like other children when he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end? How can the Creator be enclosed in a created body?

Lessons from the Manger

We all know the story in Luke 2. Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem for Caesar’s census and found the inn full. However, someone mercifully allowed them to stay in a stable. Jesus was born there with only an unsanitary feeding trough available as his bed.

Because this story is so familiar, I easily overlook its significance. Instead of consuming and digesting God’s word so that it becomes real and personal, my tendency is to do just what James warns about—look in God’s mirror and turn away without change (Jam. 1:23-25).

So what is God showing me from the story of the manger today?