Week 1: Incarnation

Practicing Incarnation

For the next seven weeks, we will focus on different dimensions of the Gospel and how we are formed into each area. This week we start with the incarnation. The incarnation reveals a ministry of entering in. To practice incarnation, we must enter another person's space, culture, and life for their betterment. This is not just for our curiosity or amusement. It is not a vacation or a social experiment. The incarnation says I will place myself in what is uncomfortable for me for someone else's good. Of course, Jesus is the supreme incarnation. Any study on the Gospel and specifically incarnation must turn to Philippians 2:5-11. As you read this text today, remember that Paul is pointing to the Gospel of Jesus as the way of life we strive for.

There are many ways to practice incarnation in your day-to-day life. Even if it seems everyone you know looks, talks, and acts the same way. I want to offer three possible options for practice this week. Try to at least practice one of them as we explore further the concept of incarnation. Don’t just read the passages this week; also engage in incarnation. As we have learned, it is in practicing the way that we understand the truth which leads to abundant life.

1. Pay a visit to someone in the hospital or a nursing home.
2. Bake or prepare something for neighbors you do not know and hand deliver it to them. Introduce yourself even if it feels uncomfortable. Don’t just leave it on the doorstep.
3. Intentionally place yourself into an uncomfortable setting by shopping at a grocery store where you usually wouldn’t shop or eating in a restaurant where you wouldn’t usually dine.

Throughout the week will be exploring Paul's letter to a young minister named Timothy. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, and this one is the first of those two letters. Paul mentored Timothy. We know from Acts that Timothy was born of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother. It’s not clear where Timothy first heard the Gospel, but in following Paul, he would soon learn that the Gospel was more than just a story about Jesus; it was now the very mission for his own life.

This week we will read through 1 Timothy because it reveals how Timothy is practically living out incarnation. Timothy finds himself in Ephesus, and in the text today, Paul encourages him to stay there even though it's uncomfortable. Timothy is from the rural area of Lystra and Derbe, but Ephesus is a bustling port city full of diversity. In this uncomfortable setting, God is calling Timothy to live incarnationally.

As you read through these opening verses of First Timothy, ask yourself how these verses might relate to your incarnational practice this week. What might Paul say to encourage you as you visit a nursing home or share a meal in a new place?