His Presence Is Our PassionSample

God in Human Flesh (The Incarnation)

The Incarnation is probably the most underrated doctrine in Christianity today. It’s easy to slip into thinking about the Christmas story like it’s just a prequel to Easter. ‘God wanted to save humanity, and he planned to do that on the cross, soooo… Christmas had to happen first, right?’ But if we skip over the profound truth of the incarnation too quickly, we miss God’s heart for His people. In Ephesians, Paul indicated that God had planned to insert Jesus into time and space before creating the world. So it’s not an exaggeration to say that everything in the known universe exists to provide a stage for God to become a part of His creation and live with His creatures.

We should realize that Jesus’ birth is the most stunning moment in human history. The author of life writes Himself into the story of the people He created. God came close, close enough to tell a joke, to share a meal. Close enough to bring comfort to a grieving parent. Close enough to give a hug, attend a wedding, or cry at a friend’s death. Close enough to die.

Our God doesn’t stand beyond our reach, indifferent to life’s pain and suffering. Our God doesn’t sit in the heights of His glory, waiting for us to somehow rise above our feeble limits and catch His attention. Our God doesn’t abandon us to our folly and self-indulgence. He doesn’t close His ears to our cries of despair and regret. We are not alone.

John 1:14 is a very well-known verse. But our English translations sometimes lose part of what John is saying. John simply tells us that God became human and ‘lived among us.’ But the word he uses to describe the incarnation is ‘tabernacled.’ Literally, Jesus was God ‘tabernacled among us.’ The tabernacle was a tent in Ancient Israel where God’s presence would manifest physically in this world. And John wants us to realize that Jesus was that tent in all its fullness. Jesus was the complete embodiment of the glorious presence of God, walking this earth.

Human Enough To Miss

But this is the real mystery. Jesus was the exact representation of God’s being, the fullness of life in human flesh, yet many people missed it entirely. In Jesus, we see a God who is content to be unknown, unrecognized, ignored, and even rejected. The presence of God is not about showy displays of grandeur or worldly ideas of the spectacular. Jesus did amazing miracles, but he was so relatable, so human, that it was only through divine revelation that anyone could discern his true identity. That’s the real surprise of how God chooses to move.

Many of us have experienced God bursting into our lives with a blinding light that knocks our world off its axis and changes everything. And yet those around us wonder why we’re behaving so strangely. God’s presence can work a miraculous transformation, bringing peace, hope, and healing, yet others are unmoved. And that’s how God works - in the secret place. He invites us to fellowship with Him, embrace His presence, to be content to follow Jesus.

Because when we look at the life of Jesus, we get a glimpse of the way God is still present in this world. Jesus gravitated to the lonely and the hurting, the sick and marginalized. Jesus gathered his followers into a community and taught them to love each other. And then, the night before he was arrested and executed, when he was talking to his disciples, he knew his time on earth was almost finished, so he gave them this promise:

“It’s actually a good thing that I’m going to be leaving you… because when I’m gone, I will send you a divine helper, a friend, an advocate to be with you.” John 16:7

Even as Jesus leaves this earth, he promises that God’s presence will still be with us in a new way through the Holy Spirit.

Reflection Questions

1. How much have I let the profound reality of God becoming human sink deep?
2. When in my life have I experienced the reality of God being close?
3. When do I most need a reminder that God is always with me?