“Today. . . a Savior has been born.”
Luke 2:11

The Incarnation – God became man! Jesus Christ, the Son or God, the second person of the Trinity was and is God Incarnate. It is difficult to grasp the importance of this biblical truth. The Son became a man and so He knows first our condition. He struggled in this life, with all of the same difficulties that you and I have to face. Within the first two years of His life alone battled jut to live – surviving the un-sterile birthing room of a a stable, escaping the homicidal rampage of a jealous puppet king (Herod), and withstanding the dangers of His family’s exodus through the wilderness into Egypt.

Jesus’s identification with us did not end there. He knew love and laughter. He knew pain and sorrow. He knew the cold kiss of betrayal and the lashing tongue of mockery. He knew temptation. He knew friendship and leadership. He knew servanthood and compassion. In all things He was just like us save one – He never, ever sinned. Thus, He could become our perfect, holy sacrifice.

At Christmas we give gifts as we remember the greatest gift the world has ever known – Jesus Christ. When we remember we must remind ourselves that Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, who came to live among us, also died purposefully so that He might return and dwell within us, by His Holy Spirit.

This day in your homes you are more than likely exchanging gifts and sharing a meal together with family or friends. Some of you are singing carols around the table or sharing stories of thanksgiving while others are outside teaching their child how to ride the new bike or tossing the new football perhaps. In the midst of all this, let us remember that Jesus Christ came to earth to be with us. If He were here with us in the flesh, He would most certainly delight in these moments. Still in a very real sense He is with us: Emmanuel (“God with us”). By His Spirit that dwells within us and unites us to Christ He is still here touching our lives, dispensing His grace for salvation, and making us holy and blameless for life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today, of all days, seek Christ. Find Him in His Word. Search Him out through prayer. Go after Him in the fellowship of the Spirit you share with family and friends. Be like the shepherds who left their flocks in the hills to find the babe in a manger. Seek Him out, knowing He has already found you! Merry Christmas!!!

-Chad Reynolds 

SCRIPTURE:  Luke 2:20