“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Gospel of John
On the eve of Christmas, I am engrossed in a study of The Revelation and the events that herald the timeless future. Perhaps, then, it is only fitting tonight to turn my thoughts to the timeless past.
The time, place, and events connected to the baby in a Bethlehem manger was thought out and set in motion no later than the onset of Creation. Before morning and evening were the first day, there was our Savior—the complete expression of God. When the scriptures say, “God said”, the Word was what he was saying. That Word was the power that caused the Creation.
The unleashing of the energy in a relatively small amount of uranium is both awe-inspiring and terrible. The Word that bound that energy into the creation of that same lump of uranium is no less so. That boundless power by His own choice took on flesh, was born as a man, and lay helpless in a manger for one solitary purpose—to bring peace between God and Man by His death and resurrection.
Peace and good will are God’s gifts to you and me. The prophets foretold it, the angels proclaimed, but Jesus Christ made it happen. He has stepped back beyond the bounds of space and time. From His exalted place beyond time, He still raises the dead, finds the lost, strengthens the weak, heals the broken, and sets the captive free.
If the Christmas season inspires love, hope, and miracles, it is because it is a celebration of He who is love, who gives hope and works miracles. What better symbol of these things than a newborn baby?
The same John who wrote this text said in another place, we saw, heard, and touched Him. He touched the One who is the creative Word. An imperfect man actually touched the holy, perfect God. It sounds almost miraculous. Almost only because He is still touchable today—make contact; it’s the greatest gift of all.
“But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law…”
Maranatha
Comments