Jane Geisler, 96-years-old, is a volunteer at the Appalachian Trail train station in Pawling, New York.  She greets hikers, many from New York City, who are pursuing a hiking experience at one of the Trail’s closest approaches to the city and one of the few places it can be reached by rail.  Jane first hiked on the Trail more than 80 years ago, shortly after it was completed.  She offers hikers advice, maps and encouragement and she describes the terrain going north and south: “Either way you go, there’s a hill.  There’s always a hill.” (National Parks Magazine, Spring 2020).

I’ve done a few multi-day hikes on the Appalachian Trail, as well as a multi-day mission trip hike in Honduras, and too many day hikes to count.  I love hiking although it’s been far too long since I’ve done any serious perambulating (look it up).  Though I’m far from an expert in mountain hiking I absolutely agree with Ms. Geisler: “There’s always a hill.”  I think that at any point you can access the Appalachian Trail from a road you have to go up, whichever direction you choose.  At times, I’m sure a hiker’s favorite scripture has been Isaiah 40:4 – Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley.

During one of those multi-day hikes I came to an realization which I’ll share in a moment.  When I shared it with my fellow hikers that acted like it was a wise and thoughtful insight.  One of them, a pastor, even said, “That’s a good word!”  When I think about it now it just seems obvious, but God usually speaks to us very simply.  Here’s the pearl of wisdom: When you’re hiking, particularly on a difficult stretch of trail, you have to be very careful to watch your footing.  A misplaced step could cause a fall, a sprained ankle, or an encounter with poison ivy, among other problems.  But if you’re too busy watching the path, you could easily miss the beauty around you.  Beauty could be a long-range mountain vista, a blooming rhododendron, a chipmunk skittering away, the simple stillness of being among the trees, or the joy of a fellow hiker.  There has to be a balance between watching the path and engaging the world around you.

As Christ-followers, we have to keep our eyes on the path, i.e., living the life we are called to.  That doesn’t mean legalistic obedience to a set of rules.  It certainly means following the guidelines God has given us but, more importantly, it means becoming more like Christ.  It means following the path He laid out and growing as we follow that path.  Each Spring many hikers set out from Springer Mountain, Georgia to hike the Appalachian Trail, yet each year only a few make it the full length to Katahdin Mountain in Maine.  That hike requires commitment and discipline and a desire to complete it no matter the obstacles.  Discipline and disciple come from the same root word.  Discipline is not about punishment; it’s about commitment.

Yet also as Christ-followers, we must be aware of the world around us.  We must appreciate the beauty and the opportunities.  What a shame it would be to hike the Appalachian Trail its entire length with your head down!  You would have completed the journey but not be able to tell a single story about the views, or the soaring eagle, or the mama bear with her cubs, or the grandeur of a clean blue sky seen from a mountaintop.

A level path is easy to hike.  But … there’s always a hill.  And sometimes the trail up that hill is a rocky scree.  Sometimes you’re hiking that hill in freezing temperatures, or driving rain, or thick fog, or oppressive heat.  Sometimes you fall, or twist an ankle, or get stung by a wasp.  And that hill is still there; you still have to climb it.

It is fascinating that the entire world is facing a hill right now known as COVID-19.  It is a massive hill and it requires us to carefully watch our footing.  We watch our footing by isolation and social distancing and hand washing.  We may also watch our footing by being glued to the news and online sources to keep us updated on testing, new cases and deaths.  We must watch our footing but we must not obsess over it.  We must also lift our heads up and see the beauty.  This virus has the potential for creating bonds among people who have no other common ground because, to coin a phrase, we’re all in this together.  This virus also provides opportunities to serve others and to foster communication.  Yesterday, our scattered family used the Zoom app to have a wonderful conversation for nearly an hour.  We laughed with sisters, kids, grandkids and cousins.  We saw babies who had grown and new puppies.  While we certainly keep up with each other, we probably wouldn’t have had that conversation without this crisis.  We’re all looking forward to the next conversation.

In the same issue of National Parks Magazine, there was a story about a woman named Rachel Cox who had been lost in Wind Cave in South Dakota in 1989.  She was separated from her team and her fuel-powered lamp went out.  A massive search effort was organized and people began searching sections of the cave system that had never been explored.  Rachel had been alone in the darkness for 36 hours when a rescuer found her.  He said, “Rachel, are you ready to leave now?”  She asked him, “Are you God?”

This is a dark time, yet it is a time for hope.  What a beautiful metaphor Rachel’s story gives us!  God may be found in the darkness. Yet it is profoundly humbling to realize that God is actually seeking us in the darkness.  Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  The Creator is actively seeking us, wants to rescue us, and wants us to have a relationship with Him.  Are you ready to leave the darkness and embrace the light of God’s love?  It’s certainly a salvation story for those without God, but believers also find themselves in the dark, especially at times like this.  God is there in the darkness.

This is a time to connect and reconnect; a time to reach out, even if that reaching doesn’t include physical touch.  It’s a time for believers to shine the light they possess into the darkness around them.  “You are the light of the world. a city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

There’s always a hill, but for every uphill there is a downhill (although those can be tough on your knees!)  There is light available on the other side of the darkness.  This current hill may be an opportunity for you to share your joy with others.  Even on the hills and mountains, we can spread the good news:  “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

Continue climbing the hill.  Stay safe.  Wash your hands.  Be smart.  Shine your light.

By day, I’m a mild-mannered Human Resources professional.   By night …. I’m just tired.  In my HR role I receive numerous emails offering me white papers, studies, free evaluations and lots and lots of attempts to sell me stuff.  I recently received an email from an internationally known HR consulting company with a link to a white paper entitled, “The Hidden Fountain of Youth.”  The lead sentence describing the white paper was:

One study finds those who feel content are 35% less likely to die.

Wow!  Not only is this the Fountain of Youth, the author apparently stumbled on the key to eternal life on earth, at least for a percentage of us.  If you can find contentment you are 35% less likely to die.  I haven’t googled the numbers for verification, but I believe we are all 100% likely to die.  Either this claim involves some very poor writing or the author has made the greatest discovery since sliced bread and, honestly, I’m still not sure why sliced bread was such an amazing discovery – knives have been around for centuries.  Plus, I find joy in tearing off a hunk of bread from a loaf.

Once you get past the shock of this amazing discovery, you find that the author’s claim is that: 1) contentment improves one’s health; and 2) stress can affect one’s health.   I hope he wasn’t paid too much money to arrive at these conclusions.  God has something to say about contentment in His word; Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:10-13

Paul’s life was full of suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 he tells us: A servant of Christ … in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine l ashes.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.  I have been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Paul was not boasting, simply sharing his testimony that whatever suffering he experienced was worth it for the surpassing wonder of a relationship with Christ.

Despite all this trauma in his life, Paul is able to write that he found contentment in every situation.  In the Philippians passage, Paul is referring specifically to financial need because he is thanking the church at Philippi for providing assistance to him, but the point holds that he can find contentment regardless of life’s circumstances. In fact, Paul infers that he would have been fine without their gift because of His faith in God’s provision.

In early church times there existed a school of Greek philosophy known as Stoicism, which has enjoyed a bit of a rebirth in our day. One of the primary beliefs of Stoicism is the idea that one can achieve contentment by being self-sufficient.  The four virtues that, if realized in one’s life, provide self-sufficiency were prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.  That doesn’t sound bad on the surface.  But Paul counters this philosophy of one of self-sufficiency with one of Christ-sufficiency.  We can never find contentment (or salvation) from within, but only from outside ourselves in our total dependency on Christ.

I began this post before Covid-19 was declared a pandemic and public events began shutting down and self-quarantining became a thing.  I’m finishing this post on a Sunday when my church did not formally meet but streamed a service online with just a handful of people present. So I didn’t begin this post to say that we can find contentment in the midst of a pandemic panic, but it’s true – we can.  We can find contentment in the face of any challenge, any deprivation, any fear the world presents to us, because our contentment does not come from within.  I would never find contentment if I depended on my mind and heart to provide it.  No matter how much prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance I display I cannot manufacture contentment in every moment of my life, especially the stressful and painful moments.

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27

This coronavirus strain did not surprise God.  None of our fears or stressors or reactions surprise Him.  He is sovereign.  He is Lord.  He is the source of true peace and contentment.  Turn to Him.  Trust Him.

….. and wash your hands …. a lot …. for at least twenty seconds.

I know many of you have already taken down your Christmas decorations.  I understand … that’s your prerogative.  I’m just glad I wasn’t your kid.  For me it’s still the Christmas season and we’re continuing with our theology of Christmas theme as we consider the glory of God, particularly as it is revealed through Jesus.

Obviously, the decorations need to come down at some point.  Unfortunately, as Christmas decorations are removed sometimes the meaning of Christmas is forgotten.  The beautiful theme Christmas Time is Here from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” contains the lyric, “O that we could see such spirit through the year.”  We sometimes forget that Christmas is about Immanuel – God with us.  He’s still with us when the decorations come down and we slog through January and February.  Some Christians are accused of leaving Jesus on the cross; at Christmas, sometimes we leave Him in the manger.

When Jesus came the angels sang of giving God glory.  We must continue to glorify God.  But what is glory?  It seems to be a big part of Christmas and the word is included in many carols.

The glory of God

Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Then the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”  Exodus 33:18-23

Moses is nothing if not bold.  This is his fourth intercession for God’s action.  God has repented of His anger, promised to fulfill His covenant, and said He will be with them on their journey to the Promised Land.  Now comes an extremely bold request:  Moses is asking to see the very essence of God.

God agrees and says His “goodness” will pass before Moses.  He will proclaim His name, which is very important.  But God also exerts His sovereignty by essentially saying, “You’re a lucky boy, Mo!”  And God agrees only to a point.  There are limits to what can be revealed to us (not limits to what God can do).  It would be impossible for us to fully comprehend God and a full revelation of His glory would likely destroy us.

God protects Moses by placing him in the cleft of the rock and covering him with his Hand.  As the hymn says, “He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love and covers me there with His hand.”  Moses may see the back side of God’s glory.  What in the world does this mean?

The Hebrew word for glory is kaw-bode’ and carries the idea of weight.   There is heft to God’s glory.  We know of the shekinah glory; rabbis have said this speaks to a divine visitation/manifestation of God’s glory.  It is a hard term to define.  In Isaiah 6:3 the angels are crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  Leviticus 10:3 God says, “I will be shown to be holy among those who are near me and before all the people I will be glorified.  I will be shown to be holy.” It is obvious that glory is tied to God’s holiness.  Glory is, in a sense, the manifestation of God’s holiness.   There is nothing egotistical about it.  John Piper says glory is the infinite beauty and greatness of His manifold perfections (attributes, character, worth).  So glory involves infinite beauty and holiness which would be overwhelming for Moses.  By the way, in chapter 34 we learn that God did pass by and Moses saw His glory.

Glory among us

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”  Luke 2:13-14

God’s glory was evident in pillars of fire and cloud as He led the Hebrews through the wilderness.  God occupied the tabernacle, then the temple.  The temple was rebuilt after the exile but God’s glory did not return to it.  He had removed his presence from Israel because of their sin.  Now It was back.

One angel was suddenly joined by an army of angels (host) – it had to be amazing.  The message the angels brought shows the significance of what was happening. Glory not only for Jesus’ birth, but for His mission, what He would accomplish in His life, death, and resurrection.  With glory comes peace to those with whom God is pleased, i.e., those who repent and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Not those “doing a good job.”

In John 1:14, Jesus is called the tabernacle of God.  He is the new temple (2 Cor. 3:18) and our bodies are now temples.  The Holy Spirit dwells within us.  Therefore, in bearing the image of God we bear His glory.

Glory returned to earth in the birth of Jesus.

Living gloriously (Isaiah 43:6-7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 1:20-23)

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”  Isaiah 43:6-7

As with so many Old Testament prophecies, there is likely a “now and then” meaning.  The “now” for the more immediate fulfillment of the prophecy was the return from exile, and the “then,” or longer term fulfillment, could be the modern reconstitution of Israel as a nation, or it could be the ultimate gathering of all believers.  God is calling home those called by His name and created for His glory.  The main point of this overall passage is that people need not fear because God is in control, even in exile. 

Why did God create Israel?  Why did He create you and me? For His glory.  Two examples illustrate this: at the tower of Babel, men said let us make a name for ourselves and God dispersed them; to Abram God said, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great.”  We were made to trust God, to rely on Him and give Him glory and He will bless us.  In my humble opinion, the bottom line is that we were made to display His glory so that His glory may be made known.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

In a sense, this verse combines the two great commandments of Jesus: love God and love your neighbor.  Paul has been discussing the freedom we have to act, i.e., we are no longer under the law, but he cautions us to be aware of how our actions affect our witness and how others perceive them.  In verse 31, he commands that whatever we do we must make sure that it glorifies God.  If it negatively affects someone else it does not bring glory to God.

How do we glorify God on a daily basis? Simply by our words and our actions.  Can people tell you’re a Christian by these?  Giving God glory isn’t really a thing we give to God; it’s actually something we are privileged to do in light of what He’s done for us.  Our eyes have been opened through salvation and we see how glorious God is.  Again, we were created for His glory.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1:20-23

There is very real danger in not giving glory to God. God is evident in creation.  Men who say they don’t believe in God are without excuse – they knew God, but became “futile in their thinking.” These are people who walk in darkness.  They claim wisdom, but are only arrogant and are truly fools.  They have exchanged God’s glory for idols, which may be said of people today.  I define an idol as anything that comes between me and God and I’ve had a lot of idols in my life.  What are yours?  It’s easy to say money and possessions.  But what about fishing or golfing or crafting?  What about friends or family?

God is not in the business of making us happy, He is in the business of making us holy.  From the womb to the tomb, our lives are all about the glory of God.

Conclusion

At the 2009 Kansas high school state track championship, an unusual thing happened. The team that won the girls 3,200-meter relay was disqualified. But what happened next was even more unusual. The team that was awarded the state championship by default turned right around and gave their medals to the team that had been disqualified.  The first school, St. Mary’s Colgan, lost first place because judges ruled that a runner had stepped out of her lane as she handed off the baton. That meant the second team, Maranatha Academy, moved up to first. After receiving their medals, the girls from Maranatha saw the downtrodden looks on the faces of the St. Mary’s girls, so they gave them their individual medals.  Why did they do this? As Maranatha’s coach Bernie Zarda put it: “Our theme for the year was to run not for our glory, but for God’s glory.” As a result of the girls’ action, their story was told throughout Kansas, and God’s name was lifted up.

As we close this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus, we understand that birth enables sinners to see God’s glory now and forever clothed in humanity.  God’s glory has come to earth and it no longer resides in a particular place or appears at a particular time.  God is truly among us and “with us,” our Immanuel.

May you show the glory of God in 2020.

Kenosis?  Is that a disease.  It’s actually a Greek word that is found in perhaps the best incarnational verses in the Bible, Philippians 2:1-11:

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

This beautiful passage has caused angst among Christians.  What does it mean that Christ emptied Himself?  Did Jesus lay aside His divinity, or did He somehow step into the human realm but retain His divine self-consciousness?  There is much false doctrine about what it means for Jesus to have emptied Himself, so it is critical to understand and understanding helps better define Christmas for us.

Prelude (1-4)

In the Greek grammatical structure Paul is writing “since there is” rather than “if there is.”  He assumes there is encouragement, consolation, etc.  Paul is appealing to the fellowship.  There is encouragement, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit and affection and sympathy.  Paul asks the Philippians to make him joyful by making these things real in their lives.

Being of the same mind and having the same love and being in agreement stresses unity, not a lockstep mentality.  The church at Philippi had problems and needed to come together. Every church needs unity. Unity is from within; uniformity is forced on people by others.

Verses 3 and 4 tells us how to act, not out of ambition but in humility.  Always count others as more important than yourself – it’s not about you.  Certainly consider your interests, but also the interests of others.  Jesus said it clearly: Love your neighbor as yourself.  This introduction sets the stage for the verses we’ll focus on.

Hymn (5-8)

Paul offers instruction in what it widely considered to be one of the earliest Christian hymns.  Everything that follows is keyed to Paul wanting believers to have the mind of Christ – all of these concepts are rooted in the mind of Jesus. Keep in mind, this is Paul’s goal in the succeeding statement.

In verse 6 we see Jesus relinquishing His position.  The King James Version provides an interesting translation: Jesus thought it “not robbery to be equal with God.”  The root of the word is “plunder or prize.”  Other translations, like the New American Standard, state that Jesus did not count that equality as something to be grasped or held onto.  One of my favorite translations is the very literal one by Wuest, which reads “who did not after weighing the facts, consider it a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards.”  In other words, Jesus did not think His equality with God as something to selfishly hold onto, but to use to accomplish His mission of salvation.  It ties in beautifully with the preceding verses about looking out for the interests of others.  In 2 Corinthians 2:8-9 we read, “that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  Jesus did not change, but His type of existence did.

Jesus emptied Himself.  The word for empty is from the Greek root kenoo, from which we derive the concept of kenosis.  This is also translated as “made himself of no reputation,” but that doesn’t seem to fully indicate what a monumental thing Jesus did.  The mistake many make is thinking that Jesus emptied Himself of something, rather than it being a statement of His character and identity.  The key is that He humbled Himself.  It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that some theologians began saying Jesus gave up some of His divine attributes in becoming human.  Since the Council of Chalcedon in 451, no one in the church taught this.  Liberal theology crept in denying the divinity of Jesus.  The essential meaning is that He emptied himself of His positional equality with God and adopted human form – the rest of the verse explains it: He took the form of a bond-servant.  Jesus became something He had not been before – human.  He did not give up His deity, only His place in Heaven, and that just for a while.  We’ll come back to this.  In context Paul is saying be like Jesus.  He is not telling the Philippians to discard their attributes and powers (abilities and talents), but to submit them to the will of God for the good of the church.

Verse 8 continues the downward path.  Christ has left heaven, taken on the form of a man, become a slave.  Now His further humiliation results in death on a cross – a shameful form of execution, reserved for the lowest of the low.  It is complete humiliation.  The translation of the entire passage from Wuest, while a bit difficult to read, captures these ideas fully: His mind be constantly having in you. which is also in Christ Jesus, who has always been and at present continues to subsist in that mode of being in which He gives outward expression of His essential nature, that of absolute deity, which expression comes from and is truly representative of His inner being , and who did not after weighing the facts, consider it a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards, this being on an equality with deity , but himself He emptied, himself He made void, having taken the outward expression of a bondslave, which expression comes from and is truly representative of His nature , entering into a new state of existence, that of mankind. And being found to be in outward guise as man, He stooped very low, having become obedient to the extent of death, even such a death as that upon a cross.  The key is that Jesus is God (being on an equality with deity) and then He took on the form (outward expression) of a bondslave.  The emptying was not a divestiture of deity, it was an expression of deity, and the deity descending to serve.

Postlude (9-11)

No one is more important than Jesus, yet He humbled Himself.  He is exalted and bears the most wonderful name of all.  He has completed the descent, but now He is on a very steep upward slope.  Everyone will bow their knee to Jesus – EVERYONE!  Those who don’t believe will be compelled to bow.  Wouldn’t you rather do it now than be forced to when it’s too late?

Kenosis

Kenosis itself is not a bad word; we should be a kenotic body of believers, emptying ourselves of ourselves to serve.  But to say He gave up attributes is wrong.  Let’s look at some of the divine attributes and see how Jesus exercised them on earth.

• Omniscience – John 11 – Jesus was at least fifty miles away from Lazarus and told the disciples he was dead.  John 2:24 – But Jesus on His part did not entrust himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man.  John 6:64 – But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.
• Omnipotence – He raised the dead! Lazarus, the young man in Nain, and Jairus’ daughter. John 10:17-18: For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.  I have the authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.  This charge I have received from my Father.
• Omnipresence – a little more difficult given his earthly body. Matthew 18:20 – 2 or 3. John 1:49 – He saw Nathaniel under the fig tree.

We referred to Colossians 2:8-9 above. He gave up external glory of his riches, but not ownership.  1:19-20 – For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross; this was His earthly ministry.

Jesus willingly gave up the exercise of His glory and sometimes chose not to use His other powers, but He did retain them.  There is danger in thinking that Jesus left his powers and attributes behind.  If that were true, we as believers are as much an Incarnation of God as Jesus.  Arthur Pink said, “There is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all.”  There is no middle-ground; no halfway or almost. In a sense, it’s like pregnancy – no one is kind of pregnant or almost pregnant, you either are or you are not.

Jesus was our redeemer, our substitute.  When He was living in the flesh claiming total dependence on the Spirit, He was doing it out of His human nature. But because He was God, he could pay the price no man could.  Because of His dual nature we can say the following about Jesus:

• He existed from all eternity and He was born in Bethlehem.
• He is David’s Lord yet David’s son.
• He is the Ancient of Days and He was an infant.
• He is I AM and the son of Mary.
• He upholds all things yet He grew weary with his journey.
• He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, yet He increased in stature.
• He knows the Father perfectly yet He increased in wisdom.
• He is the Prince of Peace, yet His soul was troubled in the garden.
• He is King of Kings, yet He was sentenced to death by a Roman governor.

Jesus did reveal His power and glory at times, e.g, in raising the dead, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and when He spoke the words, “I AM” in the garden and the soldiers collapsed.  But He made a choice to limit that power and become a sacrifice for our sins.  As the old hymn says, He could have called 10,000 angels, but He died alone for you and me.

Conclusion

Let’s go back to Paul’s context: Have this mind which was in Christ Jesus.  For us, the way up is the way down.  We must mirror Christ’s humiliation.  We must descend, with Christ, into total humility where everyone is more important than us, where we have been emptied of self, which means emptied of ambitions, selfishness, even self-preservation.  We must be obedient to everything God requires, even to the point of death.  We must recognize that no one is more important than Jesus.  We will be exalted, not above Jesus, but we will live eternally in the presence of God.

This is how you celebrate Christmas.  This is how you embrace the Christmas spirit, because the Christmas spirit is kenosis.  It’s not about you, it’s not about gifts, and it’s not even about family and celebration – it’s about Jesus.

Michael Spencer wrote, “… without the incarnation, Christianity isn’t even a very good story, and most sadly, it means nothing. ‘Be nice to one another’ is not a message that can give my life meaning, assure me of love beyond brokenness, and break open the dark doors of death with the key of hope.”  Incarnation simply means the Biblical understanding that Jesus took on human nature.  This concept has puzzled people throughout history and led to many false doctrines being put forward about the nature of Jesus.  However, it was part of God’s beautiful plan to become Immanuel – God with us.  Rather than a sad little story, it is the grandest story told.

Pre-existence of the Son

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.   In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  John 1:1-5

The first five verses in the Gospel of John are some of the most beautiful and profound words ever written.  John does not need to prove the existence of God; he assumes it.  The way verse 1 is constructed conveys the idea of no beginning, but a continuous existence.  The word for “word” in the Greek is logos.  The Word is the manifestation of God, here the physical manifestation.  The Hebrew word memra was translated into the Greek as logos and was used for the manifestation of God in the Old Testament. John was writing to Greeks and Jews so this concept would have meaning to both groups.  In Greek thought of the time, logos referred to the principle that controlled the universe. Stoic philosophers thought of the logos as the soul of the world or the mind of God. They understood the term and the concept much better than we do.

In verse 2 we see that the Word is a separate and distinct personality within the Godhead.  The word “with” can also mean “toward,” so the Word (Jesus) was with God and was oriented toward God in union and harmony, which really should also describe us as believers.  The Word was a “He,” a person, not a nebulous idea.  Jesus did not become an entity when He was born, but did become human.  He was also the Creator, as we see in verse 3, not a created being. He was present at the foundation of the world and well before.  Finally, in verses 4 and 5 we see He was and is the source of life.  John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came to give abundant life.  The Word, the Creator, is the source of life, both physical and spiritual.  And He is also light.  Light obviously illuminates and Jesus came to illuminate the world.  Unfortunately, the darkness of the world cannot comprehend the Light.  It requires the work of the Holy Spirit to reveal the Light to us in order to pierce the darkness of our sin and bring about regeneration.

Jesus as Creator (and not created) is echoed in Paul’s writings in Colossians 1:16-17:  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  Just before this in verse 15 we read that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.”  That’s the incarnation in a nutshell.

Sending of the Son (Isaiah 11:1-5, John 3:13-17)

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.  Isaiah 11:1-5

Isaiah gives us a prophecy about the Messiah using Jesse, David’s father. The word “stump” refers to a remnant.  Isaiah has prophesied the fall of the kingdom of Judah and that there would be no king on the throne.  He now states what other prophets had declared –  the line is  not ended.  A new and glorious king would arise from the stump.  And what would this king be like.  He will have the Spirit of the Lord with Him.  His qualities will include wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.  These qualities were missing from the kings in Isaiah’s time, but would be evident in the Messiah.

In addition he will delight in the fear of the Lord – we’ll see this later – but remember everything Jesus said about doing the Father’s will and that He listened to the Father.  While He will be a human, He will judge with perfect righteousness because He is divine.  Jesus is the ideal person (obviously) to govern the earth because of his righteousness and faithfulness – He was sent to rule and to judge.

No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  John 3:13-17

In verse 13 Jesus mentions his “descent from Heaven,” i.e., He came down … He was sent.  Jesus got down to the hard truth in verses 14-15 Jesus, although no one would have understood it at the time.  He would be lifted up – crucified – so that those who believe might have eternal life.  Verse 16 is one of the most well-known verses in Scripture.  The incarnation happened because God loved His creation, the beings He made in His image.  I don’t know that we can ever gain an understanding of this kind of love – it is truly astounding.

The phrase “only begotten” is the Greek word monogenes.  The best translations of this word are “one and only; one of a kind; unique.”  There is only one Jesus, the Creator who entered His creation to rescue those He created, who could do nothing to save themselves.  The gift He offered was escape from death into eternal life with God – a return to the Garden, if you will – a return to the right and intended perfect relationship with the Creator.

In verse 17 we have a bit more than Isaiah gives us, but it’s really a matter of timing.  Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, but to save the world.  How does that jibe with the judgment of Isaiah?  He is righteous.  Only because He is righteous are we saved.  Ultimately (final judgment), He will judge and condemnation will occur, but as 18 tells us, it is for those who have not believed.  People condemn themselves by not accepting who Jesus is and what He did for them.

Jesus was sent to us because of love.  Love is not passive, it is active.  If your love for someone becomes passive (wife, husband, children, God) you need a wake-up call. Sam Levenson said, “Love at first sight is easy to understand. It’s when two people have been looking at each other for years that it becomes a miracle.”   God’s active love resulted in the Incarnation. Do not take it for granted.  Do not become too used to the ideas of God’s love and grace that you lose awe for the enormity of the gift.

Two Natures of the Son

We’re going to bounce around Hebrews for a bit because the author of Hebrews has excellent insights into who Jesus is.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.  Hebrews 2:17-18

Jesus had to be made like us in every respect, that is, human.  Therefore He was able to become the ultimate high priest offering the ultimate sacrifice in payment for sin – Himself.  Because He was like us, He was tempted, and He can therefore help those who are tempted.  Jesus is fully human!

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.  Hebrews 5:7-9

“In the days of his flesh” obviously means when He walked the earth as a man. Jesus offered prayer that was heard because of His reverence, the fear of God Isaiah spoke of.  He was a son, the Son, but He learned obedience.  Jesus was already perfect, but after death and resurrection, He was salvation to those who obey/believe.  So He was pre-existent and God, and then became man AND He was a human.  Hebrews 1:3 says:

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

This is a powerful verse.  Jesus is the very radiance of God’s glory and bears God’s exact nature (hypostasis), to the point that He upholds the universe simply by a word.  But, He was a man who sacrificed himself (purification for sins) and ascended.  Jesus had a dual nature, but what does is it mean to be God and man?  Let’s look at who Jesus is as well as some of the false doctrines about Him.  I won’t go into a great deal of detail, but feel free to Google these terms and go into the wormhole of the internet to learn more.

• Hypostatic Union – The theological description of the union of the two natures of Christ. Christ is one person who exists forevermore in two complete natures: God and Man.  It is mysterious and profound and at the heart of our belief as followers of Christ.
• Many false beliefs in the early church that still rear their heads even now.  Council of Chalcedon in 451AD to put to rest false doctrines and stress the dual nature of Jesus as fully God and fully man.
  • Docetism – Jesus only seemed to have a body, because anything material was inherently evil.  This is holographic Jesus.
  • Ebionism – Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary who assumed title “Son of God” at his baptism.
  • Arianism – Jesus was not eternally God, but created by God before the creation of the world.
  • Apollinarianism – Jesus possessed a human body but not a human mind.  The Word became flesh, but was not invested with an evil human mind. This is “God in a bod.”
  • Nestorianism – Fully God and fully man and loosely united in person, but not in a body. In other words, when Jesus was entered our world His divinity was associated with a body.
  • Monophysitism – Jesus had only a divine nature that was integrated into His human body, that is, the human nature was eliminated.

I wish I could explain the nature of Jesus better, but it is impossible for my simple mind to fully grasp it. People have used the example of light, because it exists in particles and waves.  John Calvin compared Jesus’ nature to having two eyes, yet one vision.  I must simply accept what Scriptures tell me – Jesus was God and man.  It boils down to faith.

Why the Incarnation?

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15

We have already spoken of God’s love for us and these verses from Hebrews provide an excellent statement of why Jesus came and shared that love.  He came to offer revelation and restoration.  God never gave up on us; God never gives up on us.  I cannot explain the incarnation, but I can understand the beauty of a simple birth.  I can understand the love of a parent for a child and the wish to rescue that child from danger.    I can grasp a bit of the grand story of creation, loss, despair and hope that has played out over the span of time.

We had a need for forgiveness because we betrayed our Creator.  He didn’t have to meet that need, but because of His love for us He chose to.  There might have been other ways to accomplish this, perhaps a simple decree that all are forgiven, but He recognizes us as beings made in His image who are capable of action … so He sent Himself.  Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer once said “The best way to send information is to wrap it up in a person.”  God sent His love, Himself, as a person.

Certain lyrics from Silent Night have often been misunderstood: people have heard “round young virgin” and “run young virgin.”  In the Christmas classic Olive, the Other Reindeer, there is a character named “Round John Virgin.”  It would seem the beautiful carol Silent Night has caused some confusion about the virgin birth of Jesus.

The virgin birth is a foundational, non-negotiable belief and is a part of all Christian creeds.  It is certainly a mystery and considered a scientific impossibility.  Yet in a poll conducted by Pew Research in 2013, 73% of American adults believe Jesus was born of a virgin, including 1/3 of Americans with no specific religious affiliation.  97% of evangelicals believed, but only 70% of mainline Protestants.  According to Pew Research, in 2017 the percentages for evangelicals and mainline Protestants dropped just a bit,  but there was a decline among the religiously unaffiliated with only 17% believing.  Interestingly, according to the Pew data, only 83% of Catholics believed.

The Prophecy – Isaiah 7:10-17

Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”  But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”  Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?   Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.  For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.” 

The year is approximately 734BC and Ahaz is king over Judah.  Judah’s northern brethren (Ephraim) have been attacking Judah with Syrian allies.  Jerusalem was making a sort of last stand and had allied itself with the Assyrians in Nineveh, rather than trusting God.  Ahaz was not a good guy.  2 Chronicles 28:19 tells us that Ahaz was wicked, even sacrificing some of his own children. Ahaz was worried that Jerusalem would be overrun, but Isaiah told him it would not happen, even stating that Ephraim would cease to exist in 65 years.

So if Ahaz was such a bad guy, why was God showing mercy via Isaiah’s prophecy? God made promise to David about his kingdom and Israel was conspiring to usurp the Davidic kingdom.  God keeps His promises. Therefore, He told Ahaz to ask for a sign.  Ahaz did not utter a noble proclamation here even though he was quoting Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:16).  Ahaz was trying to justify a decision already made about the alliance with Assyria.  Also, if Ahaz had faith he would not have needed a sign. He was actually offending God, which was ultimately a test of God, anyway: Would Ahaz’ continued sinfulness keep God from acting?

But God did give a sign through the prophet.  Charles Spurgeon called this one of the most difficult passages in the Bible.  The Hebrew word for virgin is almah, and it is used seven times in the Old Testament.  It can mean virgin or maiden.  The Greek Septuagint (the early Greek translation of the Old Testament) was created by seventy Hebrew Scholars in the first century when Hebrew was very much a spoken language.  They translated the word “virgin,” which is parthenos in Greek.  However, it still could have carried the meaning “maiden.”  It could have both meanings because, like many Old Testament prophecies, there could have been an immediate and a future fulfillment. 

We don’t know what the immediate fulfillment was.  Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, had already been born. Isaiah had another son after this, Maher, but his wife was not a virgin or young maiden.  Perhaps a young princess married and gave birth as a sign that the dynasty would continue.   Ahaz and his contemporaries would have recognized the immediate fulfillment when they heard this prophecy.  The prophecy states that the boy would know right from wrong.  There are debates about the “age of accountability,” but within twelve years the northern coalition was defeated, certainly enough time for a boy to grow to know right from wrong.  However, there was still much devastation wreaked on Judah as it was caught between Assyria and Egypt.  Eating curds and honey may have been all the food they had as the land was ravaged (v. 21-22).

The long-term fulfilment is, of course, the birth of Jesus, which we’ll discuss below from the passage in Matthew.  This was not a new prophecy.  As early Genesis 3:15, God tells us there will enmity between the serpent and the woman, between your seed and her seed.  There is no reference to Adam or a man, which carries implications of a virgin birth, but certainly presages God’s action to redeem people.  Additionally, we find a confusing verse in Jeremiah 31:22: How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.” This can be literally translated as “a woman encompasses a man.”  Many scholars believe this refers to the Incarnation when a woman, Mary, enclosed in her womb, “the mighty one” or “warrior” which is the translation of the word “man.”

The Announcement – Luke 1:26-38

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 

Gabriel an archangel and seemingly the primary messenger God uses, appeared to Mary, a virgin. Joseph was descended from David, but so was Mary, as we see in Luke’s genealogy in chapter 3.  Mary was betrothed to Joseph, which was much more binding than a modern engagement.  It was a legal contract between families that essentially considered the man and woman to already be joined, although not yet formally married.

Gabriel referred to Mary as “O favored one.” This is not literally the “full of grace” reference we see in the King James but means “encompassed with favor.”  Mary was greatly troubled – ya think?  Angels always seem to say “Fear not!” when they appear so they must be pretty imposing figures.  But there was more to this – it’s an unusual greeting and indicates something else is coming.

Mary was, if nothing else, a very practical girl.  She was troubled but also puzzled.  She basically asked Gabriel, “Who are you and what do you want?”  The angel repeated that she is favored, that she has found favor. He went on to give her the completely unexpected and seemingly impossible news:  You will conceive in your womb.

This is critical as it points to Jesus’ humanity.  But His name, which means “Jehovah is Savior” points to His divinity.  He will be great (seems like an understatement), Son of the Most High (again, pointing to His divinity), and will occupy David’s throne (He is royalty, in fact, He is the King of Kings).  He will rule forever and there will be no end to his kingdom.  That’s a lot to take in.  The pregnancy alone is significant news, but Gabriel told her so much more. 

In all of that glory, Mary heard, “You’re gonna get pregnant.”  Here’s our practical girl.  She asked not a question of doubt, but of faith.  She accepted what Gabriel said, but asked about the how.  The answer is overwhelming.  The Holy Spirit will cause her to become pregnant – the power of the Most High.  Therefore, he will be holy, set apart, without sin.  He will be the Son of God.

Then Gabriel provided news about Elizabeth and a simple statement – nothing is impossible with God.  Do you believe that?  Mary did.  Do I believe that?  Good question.  If a virgin can bear a baby, if men can be raised from the dead, if my sorry sinful self can be saved, then NOTHING is impossible. But we don’t always have faith Mary did.

I absolutely love Mary’s response: “Okay, I am the Lord’s servant. Whatever you say, Lord.”  What a lesson for us!  You’re in the Word, in prayer, you receive clear impressions from God.  Maybe it’s “Go to Africa,” or maybe it’s “talk to your co-worker,” or maybe it’s “start tithing.”  How do you respond?  With excuses?  To God? Really?  Now there is something here we can’t overlook – Mary had an angel standing in front of her.  You think, “of course I would have great faith, if an angel were standing before me.”  I get it, but you can have encounters with God minus angelic visitations.  And you know what?  Two of those three examples are already spelled out in the Bible (talk to you co-worker and start tithing, in case you’re taking notes).  I would venture to say that 90% of God’s will for you is in His Word.  You want Gabriel?  You’re stuck with me and this blog right now.  I’m not shiny or imposing like Gabriel, but I can tell you, as Gabriel would: His Word is true.  Heed and obey it.

The Christian author, Madeline L’Engle wrote a beautiful little poem about Mary’s faith:

This is the irrational season

When love blooms bright and wild.

Had Mary been filled with reason

There’d have been no room for the child.

Back to the virgin birth … Luke was a physician and probably should be the most skeptical of the gospel writers about this, but he accepted it in faith and wrote about it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  It is the annunciation of the prophecy of Isaiah which was to be fulfilled soon.  And so ….

The Fulfillment – Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. 

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way…” This is a signal that something is different from the normal births indicated by the genealogy in the preceding verses.  Matthew wrote “with child from the Holy Spirit,” which is exactly what Luke wrote.  Joseph was a good man; he was willing to disassociate from Mary, but not see her punished/stoned as she would have deserved had she been unfaithful and broken the contract of betrothal.  But an angel came to him in a dream and assured him conception was from the Holy Spirit.  This baby was coming to ”save His people from their sins.”

The next two verses are key to our belief in the virgin birth. Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, quotes Isaiah’s prophecy and says this is the fulfillment of it.  So, we can question what the verse in Isaiah means if we want to, but here is God, through Matthew, telling us Jesus’ birth is its fulfillment.  You either accept the entire Word or you don’t.  Jesus will be born of a virgin.  The beauty of this verse is that it very simply ties the old covenant to the new.  The law is fulfilled in the coming of the King.  The prophecy was fulfilled and validated.  In fact, Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” The virgin birth was accepted as fact in the early church and should be accepted by believers now.

And, once again, we encounter obedience.  Joseph obeyed; it’s that simple yet it’s that hard.  Matthew records no push back from Joseph.  He took his wife, he did not consummate the marriage, and he named the boy Jesus.  I have no doubt Joseph was a wonderful father because he was obedient to God.

So why the virgin birth?

• To fulfill prophecy.
• To point Out the uniqueness of Jesus – only begotten; one and only; no one else like him.
• To substantiate Jesus’ divinity – Psalm 5:15 tells us, “Behold, I was brought for in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  While each of us makes the choice to sin, it is an inherited predisposition.  The virgin birth, brought about by the Holy Spirit, makes null the argument that Jesus was just a man.  God could have brought divinity into the world in another way, but the virgin birth validates Jesus’ divinity and speaks to the new and unusual second birth that believers experience. Read the words of Paul Colossians 1:15-20:  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.  For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross through Him, I say, whether things on earth or in heaven.
• To substantiate Jesus’ humanity – Perhaps God could  have produced a sinless human without the virgin birth, but the birth through a woman, a sinner, to one who knew no sin and became her Savior makes Jesus  human.  He was the perfect sacrifice, fully God and fully identifying with us as a man.  Could any of us come up with such a phenomenal plan? 

To call yourself a Christian and not believe in the virgin birth is disingenuous.  You are calling Mary promiscuous and Jesus a liar.  There are a couple of important points at play here that we must consider: Mary is not co-redemptrix with Jesus, nor is she a perpetual virgin.  We should never worship Mary.  The main person in the story of the virgin birth is Jesus, not Mary, however, all believers should exhibit the faith and obedience of Mary and Joseph.

What does it mean?  Jesus is who he says He is – Son of God/Son of Man.  If we believe that, we can believe everything about Him.  Jesus lived supernaturally by performing miracles, He was raised from the dead supernaturally, and He ascended into Heaven supernaturally.  Why would we not think He was born supernaturally?  The virgin birth sounds impossible, but so does every miracle in the Scriptures.  The virgin birth is foundational to Christian believe because it goes to the heart of the gospel, that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sin that we cannot pay.  The Incarnation, the birth of Jesus to a lowly virgin in a stable, is part of the purest and sweetest love story in existence.  And the wonderful thing is that a believer is part of that love story and a non-believer can be.  Like Mary and Joseph, it requires an exercise of faith.

I haven’t blogged since June.  I am ashamed.  I could blame the pressures of work, family (two new grandbabies!) and “stuff,” and the fact that the blog site disappeared for a while, which I still can’t explain, but I also know I could have made time to write.  I’ve missed it as have my immense number of followers (at last count I was approaching double digits).  For better or worse I’m back.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging based on a sermon series I created several years ago that examines some of the theological issues we encounter at Christmas:

• The Virgin Birth
• The Incarnation of Christ
• The Glory of God
• The Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)

Please join me in this journey to and beyond Christmas as we consider the wonder of God’s love and His amazing gift to us.

Last night I received a call from an old friend.  Michele and I first met this couple nearly thirty years ago when he and I served together in the Coast Guard.  We see these friends nearly every year when they come to Florida to escape the Midwest winters. Seeing the name pop up on my phone in June told me it probably wasn’t good news; we usually share info throughout the  year on Facebook or texts.

It wasn’t good news.  Another friend, whom we’d both lost touch with, had died.  Michele visited with him and his wife 8-10 years ago when they passed through Florida.  Then they dropped off the radar for all of us with only occasional news about their lives.  We had heard he was suffering from tremendous back pain and then heard they had divorced.  As life moved on with kids, grandkids, work and church we thought less and less about them.

Then the call came.  The person who shared the news with our friends was someone else we knew from a lifetime ago.  He said our friend, whom I’ll call Joe, was a “lost soul;” lost mentally, lost physically and lost spiritually.  Joe struggled with pain and medication.  Apparently, some of the issues were harsh enough to lead to the divorce.  His death appears to have come from a fall off a ladder, which could have been an accident or induced by something like a heart attack.

At one time we were very close to Joe and his family.  We went to church together.  Their kids were often at our house and ours at theirs.  We did a lot of things together, even traveled together.  It’s not an unusual story to lose touch with those you were once close to, whether from school, college, work, the military, church, kids’ soccer teams, etc., but it still hurts when the phone call comes.

I don’t think Joe was truly “lost” spiritually, but rather struggled with life as so many of us do, but I cannot know for sure.  I feel a measure of guilt – I could have tried harder to stay in touch.  If I had, would he have called when he encountered some of the problems?  Maybe … probably not.  But it bothers me to know that I won’t talk to him again; that we won’t share sea stories or hear what his kids are up to; that I won’t be able to pray for him.  I’ll certainly pray for his family as they struggle with his death.

Joe had a servant’s heart.  He would do anything to help anyone.  I once mentioned something about a steering issue I had encountered in our car.  The next Saturday he was in my driveway with his tools taking apart the steering column and fixing the problem.  He was like that; he could be counted on.  He was a hard and dedicated worker.  To give him a task was to consider it done.

It is beyond coincidence that, last week, I received an email that Joe and a few other people were following my old Instagram account.  The account had been hacked and abandoned and I started a new one over a year ago, however I was touched that he had reached out.  I found Joe on Instagram and sent a request to follow him.  That request will remain unanswered.

I’m not sure what the point of all this is.  Perhaps to say that I miss him … missed him for years without realizing it. Perhaps it’s simply to get my feelings out.  But if you’re reading this pause a moment and think of someone you were once close to; someone you perhaps laughed with, cried with, or simply ate lunch with every day.  Reach out to him or her.  Catch up.  Ask them how they’re doing physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.  Pray for them.  I’ve thought of several folks I’ll be reaching out to.  It might be awkward.  It might be nothing more than a short conversation.  But it beats the alternative.

Most are familiar with the plot of Saving Private Ryan.  A small cadre of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent to the front lines in France in the Second World War to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon) whose three brothers were killed in combat.  The War Department wants Ryan saved so the family does not lose all its sons.  Ryan is somewhere on the front, essentially lost in a sea of green fatigues.

Just prior to the scenes in the video clip, Captain Miller is fatally wounded.  As he lays dying he tells Ryan, “Earn this!”  Earn what these men have done for you.  Earn the sacrifice that has been made for you.

I love the title of the film.  I could insert my name – Saving Jon  Kendrick – because I am lost and need saving.  We are each James Ryan in that we need saving and someone has died for us and we wonder if we’re worthy of that.  Apparently, Ryan lived to be a good man, but even if he didn’t, Captain Miller died for him.

We will never be worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, his dying in our place.  Fortunately, Jesus didn’t come to save worthy people: he came to save lost people who could never earn the gift of grace he offers.  This Memorial Day certainly remember and give thanks for the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the defense of earthly freedom.  But give ultimate honor to the One who sacrificed His life for your eternal freedom. 

This can be your story.  Claim the grace that God offers.  Accept the sacrifice of a loving Savior.  Insert your name…

On Easter Sunday, bombs exploded in Sri Lanka killing, at last count, 359 people including at least 45 children.  The bombs were set off in churches and hotels, obviously targeting Christians and tourists.  In France, a church was set on fire in the village of Eyguieres in the early morning; fortunately no one was killed or injured.  In Nigeria, a car bomb exploded near a church in Kaduna killing at least 28 people, part of an ongoing persecution of Christians in that country that has taken at least 380 lives in 2019.  The Washington Post published an opinion piece by John L. Allen, Jr in its April 23rd edition that states: “On major Christian feast days, somewhere in the world, some number of Christians are likely to be killed for no reason other than that they chose to attend religious services.  Because Christmas and Easter are the holiest days on the Christian calendar, churches tend to be especially full, presenting ripe targets for anti-Christian hatred.”  Mr. Allen, editor of the Roman Catholic-oriented news website Crux, goes on to detail various attacks on Christians around the world and not only on holidays: “… it is certain that at any hour of the day, a Christian somewhere is being martyred.”  He ends his thoughts with a call for systematic education in religious tolerance worldwide, as well as aggressive security measures at Christian sites on holy days.  “Until such a mobilization occurs, Christians will continue to be forced to celebrate Christmas and Easter in the grim and certain knowledge that some of their fellow celebrants around the world will not live to see the next day.”

Christian persecution is as old as Christianity.  Many believers over the centuries did not live to see the next day after they gathered to worship.  We seem to find a new level of outrage when these events occur on Easter, considered to be the holiest day on the Christian calendar.  Believers gathered to celebrate the Resurrection only to be attacked and killed.  I hate that my brothers and sisters in Christ are being murdered for their beliefs.  I don’t want anyone to suffer for the practice of faith.  I want the people responsible to be caught and punished.  God is a God of righteousness and He demands justice.   It is wrong that they were murdered for their faith.

Yet we sometimes forget that believers were promised persecution by Jesus Himself.  On the night He was betrayed, Jesus said, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20)  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great’ for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)  Our Sri Lankan and Nigerian brothers and sisters are experiencing that reward in heaven now.  As Paul wrote in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  Yet it is wrong that they were murdered for their faith.

I have baptized people on Easter Sunday who considered it a great honor to follow Christ in baptism on such A special day.  I imagine that worshipping the risen Savior on Easter one moment and then opening your eyes in His presence the next would be beyond incredible.  Once they have tasted the glories of heaven, we would not wish for our brothers and sisters to return to our fallen world. Yet it is wrong that they were murdered for their faith.

Those who persecute others for their religious beliefs are operating  under the belief that their religion is correct and others are therefore wrong and must be eliminated.  In fact, Christians have killed others, including other Christians, in the name of their faith.  Many people are obviously ignoring the modern mantras that “all religions are the same” and “all paths lead to God” when they are murdering people on a different path.  We delude ourselves if we think mankind can achieve universal peace on its own.  There is only one source of true peace and we can experience that peace, but we will not experience it universally until Jesus, the Prince of Peace, returns.

I recently cleaned out my desk and found some slides in a drawer.  They have been sitting in a pile on the side of my desk for a few days.  As I was writing, I picked them up to have a look while my brain continued to percolate on these words.  They are images captured many years ago when I visited Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro where stands the massive statue Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer.  I don’t believe in coincidences so let us consider Christ the Redeemer.  Murdered on Good Friday in part because He was a threat to the religious practices of the Jews.  Murdered on “Passover Eve,” just before one of the holiest day in the Jewish calendar (as the Preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is no new thing under the sun.”).  Murdered as a part of an eternal plan to redeem men and women from the penalty of sin, which is death.  Murdered willingly, which sounds so odd.  Murdered, yet resurrected on Easter Sunday to grant the promises of abundant life and eternal life to those who believe.  The Redeemer’s arms are open to receive those who believe, even persecutors who are drawn to His grace.

Grieve for the murder of believers.  Grieve and pray for families that are grieving.  Understand that you will suffer for your beliefs; it is not new and it should not be surprising.  Share the gospel, especially in the face of persecution.  We should fight terrorism and murder, certainly, but we should fight to share the truth with a lost world because true terror is eternal separation from the love of God.