To Us a Son Is GivenSample

His Poverty, Our Riches

Some gifts cannot be fully appreciated until we understand what was involved in giving them. That’s certainly true when it comes to the gift God has given us in His Son. If we don’t consider what it took for the Son of God to be born as a man and to come and live among us, then we will miss the depths of God’s grace and love.

The Son of God did not cease to be fully God when He became man—that would be impossible—but He did, for a time, give up some of His privileges. He was rich, but as today’s reading puts it, He became poor for our sake. The One whom the angels worshipped became the object of man’s hatred and rejection. The One who shared in the Father’s glory before the creation of the world was tired, thirsty, and weighed down with sorrows. He was even willing to be crucified for sinners like us.

We will never fully be able to wrap our minds around the incarnation, but the more we reflect on it, the more we should be in awe. The God who created all things and is worthy of all praise and worship has given His Son so that we might be reconciled to Him. Our riches were made possible because of Christ’s poverty. Now, at Christmas, the apostle Paul’s response in 2 Corinthians 9:15 seems especially fitting: “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

Simple Summary

Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He was willing to come and live among us. He became man, and He was even willing to be crucified. And He did all this so that we might be saved. Christ was rich, but He became poor so that those who trust in Him might have eternal life.

Pray

Praise God the Father that He was willing to send His Son for your salvation. Praise the Son that He was willing to become poor so that you might be rich. Praise the Spirit for opening your heart to these glorious realities.

This plan was adapted from To Us A Son Is Given. To find out more about the full version, please visit: https://radical.net/book/to-us-a-son-is-given/.