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. John 1:14 (ESV)
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John 1:14 (Message)
The incarnation is one of those truths that you have to come to grips with to get what following Christ is all about. It is also one of those truths that we will never fully comprehend.
The early church father Athanasius said it this way: “He became what we are that He might make us what He is.”
Hudson Taylor, one of the greatest missionaries in history, said “The missionary spirit is the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of the incarnation and the cross.”
God has been trying to rebuild relationship with mankind since the fall. In the garden, we had that relationship. Sin and rebellion came into the picture. The relationship was destroyed. God has been working at rebuilding that relationship ever since.
He is the God who sends. He sent his leaders to show us the way back to relationship with Him – men like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses. We did not follow. He sent us the law, to show us how to build relationship with Him. We did not obey. He sent us to a promised land to draw us to Himself. We went our own way. He sent us judges and kings and prophets with His message of redemption. We ignored them. He sent His people into captivity to teach them to return to Him. The return was short lived. He allowed His people to be conquered by the Syrians, the Greeks and the Romans. Still we did not turn out hearts back to God.
So then he sent us His Son. He sent Jesus. In the flesh. Incarnate. As one of us. The incarnation and the cross and the empty tomb are about the God who sends.
I had been to seminary twice, been pastoring for two decades and still did not get the incarnation. Until my six year old son taught it to me.
Jered was born with a heart for the helpless. From the time he could walk, he would round up every stray animal he could find and bring them home. Over the years we lived in South Florida, he brought home and kept stray dogs, cats, snakes, iguanas, alligators and turtles. Especially turtles. I am not sure why turtles captured his heart, but they did. Maybe it was their slowness. Maybe it was their thick shell. They just looked vulnerable to him. They just looked like they needed rescuing. And rescue them he did!
We were on a trip to North Carolina, traveling up I-95, the summer Jered was six. I spotted the turtle crossing the interstate just in time to swerve and avoid hitting him. Jered saw the turtle too – and immediately shouted “Daddy – we have to stop and save him!” I went into Daddy logic. “Son – we missed the turtle. I am sure he will be fine.” I looked back in the rear view mirror a minute later to see the tears rolling down my son’s face. I asked “Do you think we need to rescue that turtle son?” He nodded. So I did the crazy thing. I pulled off the road. I crossed the median. I prayed no policemen were watching. We drove back to where the turtle was still in the road. I crossed the median again. I got out. I got the turtle. I got back in the van and handed it to a smiling little boy. As we headed on down the road to find a safe place to leave the turtle, away from the highway, my son taught me about the incarnation. He said “Daddy, I wish I could become a turtle, so I could tell this little turtle to stay off the road and be safe.”
Bam!
That is what Jesus did! He became one of us. He left His spot in the heavens, took on flesh, and moved into the neighborhood. He wanted to show us God with skin on. He wanted to tell us and show us how much we meant to God. He wanted relationship with us badly enough to walk among us and live among us. He became one of us.
This is the heartbeat of the God who sends. He sent us a perfect place. We blew it. He sent us the law, leaders, judges, kings, prophets, even enemies to try to get our attention. None of it worked. And then He came in person. The Father sent the Son. To gain more sons and daughters. To win us.
If God was willing to do all this to send a message of His love to us, does it not make sense that He now has asked us to join Him and to be sent to give that message of His love to others?