God With Us
Perhaps we have heard the story vaguely. Perhaps we have heard the story many times before.
An innocent girl sees and talks with an other-worldly being who tells her she will give birth to a boy. A boy who will be king. (Luke 1)
The boy is conceived under miraculous circumstance but born into mundane poverty. Angels come to celebrate and announce his birth… to no one but a few shepherds on a hill. Kings come from afar to revere and worship him. But local powers choose to kill him and a few thousand others in the process.
Amazingly, this baby is the lifeline of the world. At a time when ruling powers wielded an iron hand on its minions and conquests. At a time when society celebrated a host of mythological gods. At a time when God’s chosen people had a difficult time seeing the real God through all the do’s and don’ts and religious minutiae. How would a baby be able to break through all these barriers and more?
This baby was not to be a military mastermind like Alexander the Great or Genghis Khan or Adolf Hitler. He would not be a political superpower like Emperor of Rome or the president of the free world. He was not going to be magnate to throw his wealth around.
But He came and was the express image of our Creator God. To show us the real Father (John 14:8-10) – the one we have trouble knowing for all the pre-conceptive barriers in the world and in our minds. He extended the hand of friendship and love from heaven to us. He lifts our gaze from the temporary trifles down here to the timeless treasures of His world. As we look upwards to heaven we have hope and a real future. The best gifts of all.
