What about John's Gospel? He doesn't have that ... does he? I consider John's account to be the most important -- of having the most import. Here's what John writes.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (John 1:1-3)There we have His "origins" -- existing as God from all eternity. Don't miss that. Then John writes,
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)That, dear readers, is the Christmas story. Stables and wise men, shepherds and angels, announcements and declarations, they're all part of the story, but the actual story is God ... became flesh. God's best expression of Himself -- the Word -- became flesh. He dwelt among us. The One who made the world became part of His world (Heb 1:1-2). The eternal God emptied Himself and became a servant ... who came with the express purpose of dying for us (Php 2:5-8). Tinsel and treats are fine. Songs and services are great. But ... "God with us." That's the real Christmas story, regardless of how many wise men there were, where the stable was, or whether or not the angels sang or spoke. God with us. Isn't it sad that we can get bored with that concept?
2 comments:
Let us praise Him forever, He who took on flesh to dwell among us, so that He could live a righteous life and die for our sins. The world may forget or deny. We can't.
“That's the real Christmas story…God with us. Isn't it sad that we can get bored with that concept?” It is hard to fathom that those of us mere mortals whom God indwells through His Holy Spirit could ever lose the awe and wonder of that remarkable circumstance--the God of all living in us. I am mindful that one reason that Christmas has changed so greatly over the centuries in our culture--from the focused religious observance of the incarnation of God, to the massively commercialized and secularized festival it has become--is that so many celebrating Christmas these days do not comprehend the precious gift of the Savior--or their great need for Him. So sad, indeed.
In any event, I appreciate how your Christmas-related posts encourage readers to “remember the reason for the season” and to “keep Christ in Christmas” (when you’re not dishing up some fun holiday wordplay :).
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