Understanding the Importance of the Order of Things | Part Ten
Our celebration of Christmas is almost here.
My favourite account of Jesus’ birth is the briefest and, in some ways the most profound, from John’s Gospel:
“…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. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”[1]
The truth that the Son of God comes to us as a relational little baby is so staggeringly magnificent! John says that Jesus has come to us in human form and shown us the glory of God. We must not miss the dramatic contrast… In the Old Testament to be in the presence of the glory of God meant instant death for ordinary people; it meant instant and terrible judgment upon sin.
But now Jesus appears as a gentle baby drawing us to Himself. He still comes in Truth and that Truth will still confront our sin. But He is full of Grace and Truth. He comes to judge and to pay the price of that judgment. So, we are able to see His glory and live!
The incarnation – the Son of God coming in human form – is stunning. Jesus has to become human in order to die, taking upon Himself the penalty of sin. The resurrection of Christ proves that Truth cannot be killed and He, the embodiment of Grace and Truth, will reign eternally and we also can be given resurrection into eternal life!
Jesus also comes in human form to fully experience human life. He feels hunger, loneliness, pain and grief. He joins in the celebrations of marriages and births. He loves children and families. But He knows the truth of real family under the Fatherhood of God and welcomes us to re-join that divine relationship by way of Grace and Truth. The Truth is simply that by ourselves we cannot find our way home. The Grace He brings is the ticket back to the Father’s family.
We should never presume that the grace that comes to us so freely, has no cost. Grace is robust and strong and powerful. The Grace that comes through Jesus Christ grabs sin by the throat and hammers it to the cross. Grace kills the Son of God. The price paid for our redemption is so far beyond anything we can comprehend; it’s a price that only the Creator of the universe can pay and that price has been paid.
Redemption renews our relationship with God, with others and with Creation. Once again, we see the order is important, when God initiates redemption and renewal, the truth of that floods into every area of our lives!
Blessings
Brian
Is it true that the more God-centred that we become; the more people-loving we become?
[1] John 1:14-17