The Story Of Christmas By Jon Foreman預覽

Incarnation

He is the author and we are his story, rebelling against him. But the creative God who wrote the story "in the beginning" isn't finished. How’s this for a fairy tale: the author becomes a character in his own book. His creative opus of goodness has turned to darkness and death. And none of the characters in the story can break the curse. So he breaks the rules and enters into the story himself, shining his light and love and beauty back onto the page.

Incarnation! The painter has entered the painting! There is no way to overstate how remarkable this is. The infinite God becomes finite: bound by human skin. The almighty God unbounded by time and space wets his diaper, nursing at the breast of a young woman in Bethlehem. The one who flung the stars into place becomes mortal, subject to death and boredom and lust and fear and anger and the rest of our human experience. The maker-of-all enters into what he made.

And his timeless goodness overflows - breaking lose from infinity once again into our historical timeline. Speaking a new reality into existence. The Word, become flesh. The God of time and space transcended into our planet to show us who he is. To show us the best part of ourselves: The part of us that was made in the image of the maker. 

And what was the glory of God?! What did it look like when Christ fully trusted The Maker? It looks like surrender and resurrection. It looks like a man who is confident in compassion over competition. A man who saw the image of God in the outcast, the broken, the sick, and the discarded. Incarnation. Transcendence. 

Christmas is the story of the poet entering the poem. To Heal. To Love. To light our path. And to lay his life down for us, to show us a better way. Where the God of infinity, enters the story of one planet, to redeem one species. And as the lens starts to zoom in, the story of Christmas gets personal, with the focus on you. The author of time and space wants to enter your story. He stands at the door and knocks. He wants to break into your heart this Christmas. He wants to heal. He wants to light your path. He wants to lay himself down for you. And every moment including this one, begs the question: what creative act will you choose? Will you doubt his goodness? Or will you accept his gift of incarnation? My friends, let’s enter the story! Let there be healing! Let there be light!

The  intentionality of the incarnation shows the endless compassion of my maker. The maker of heaven and earth chose us! Transcending time and space for us! When I think about how truly loved I am, the fears, and pressures, and disappointments of the day are put in their proper place. This is my identity: I am loved by my maker!  The infinite reference point from which all worth derives its meaning has esteemed me valuable and wanted. 

Against the backdrop of the incarnation the meaning of life is put in its proper context. The question is not whether I believe in a God of love. Rather, the question becomes, "Love do you believe in me?" In the incarnation, God himself crossed all boundaries to answer that question. In an emphatic, resounding, triumphant: "Yes! I love you even unto death!" Tis the season to celebrate the greatest gift we've ever received: the boundless love of our maker. Let all of our gifts be put in their place in the shadow of this, the greatest gift. Even juxtaposed against the endless material desires of the Christmas shopping season my needs are really quite simple: Love himself is all I need. 

All I need is the air I breathe

The time we share

The ground beneath my feet

All I need is the love that I believe in

Tell me love, do you believe in me

Tell me love, cause you are all I need

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Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.