As we move into Fall (we’re certainly feeling cooler weather up here in Kansas City. It’s wonderful) I can’t help but ask “How long until Christmas?” This isn’t due to any large anticipation over gifts that I’ll receive or be blessed enough to give. It isn’t about the never-ending Christmas Carols for a full month on every radio station. It isn’t about the ham or the snow or anything like that. It’s about the scandal that occurred in Bethlehem 2015 years ago. I realize we are still months away from the twenty-fifth of December, but I can’t help but meditate on what took place 2015 years ago in that small town in the land of Judea. A man was born... We always celebrate this fact, but do any of us know what it means? Can any one of us even begin to comprehend what took place on that day? Have you ever sat and really thought about God becoming Man? If you have you’ll know how quickly comprehension leaves you whilst meditating on this seemingly simple fact. I love in Luke 2 when it simply says “And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40 ESV) Jesus grew! Have you ever looked at your birth certificate and seen your tiny footprints? Jesus had footprints that small at one point. He had tiny toes, and while I doubt Mary ever played ‘this little piggy’ with them, I’m sure she did something similar. He had diapers she had to change. He lost teeth. He got haircuts. He was a man! Did He have her cheeks, or her nose, or maybe her eyes? What happened on that day? What took place in the conversations of the trinity leading up to this event? What compelled Jesus to eternally take on a human form? You see, it was just a 33 year one-and-done deal. Jesus, right now, is in the third heaven and He is FULLY MAN, yet fully God. There is a MAN at the right hand of God. A human being. The more I meditate on these facts, the more my heart melts with the love displayed in that manger on that cold December night. I read a very stirring poem about it in the prayer room Wednesday. Here it is:
“My Jesus, supreme and true God! What has drawn Thee from heaven to be born in a cold stable, if not the love which Thou bearest us men? What has allured Thee from the bosom of Thy Father, to place Thee in a hard manger? What has brought Thee from Thy throne above the stars to lay Thee down on a little straw? What has led Thee from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, to set Thee between two animals? Thou, who inflamest the seraphim with holy fire, art now shivering with cold in this stable! Thou, who settest the stars in the sky in motion, canst not move unless others carry Thee in their arms! Thou, who givest men and beasts their food, hast need now of a little milk to sustain Thy life! Thou, who are the joy of heaven, dost whimper and cry in suffering! Tell me who has reduced Thee to such misery? Love has done it. The love which thou bearest us men has brought all this on Thee.”
Jesus loves us so much that He would give up the relationship He had with God to come and justify our flesh to prepare humanity for the union that is coming with Jesus’ return. This event creates what Hans Urs von Balthasar describes as “the ecstasy of non-comprehension.” To quote him fully:
Anyone contemplating the life of Jesus needs to be newly and more deeply aware every day that something scandalous has occurred: that God, in His absolute being, has resolved to manifest Himself in a human life. He must be scandalized by this, he must feel his mind reeling, the very ground giving way beneath his feet; he must at least experience that ‘ecstasy’ of non-comprehension which transported Jesus’ contemporaries.
Jesus took part in flesh. How scandalous is that?! But He did it for love. Love for you and love for me, 1995 years before I even existed. This is even an object of contemplation for the angels (1 Peter 1:12). Paul in his letter to Timothy said “And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16 NKJV) Paul says that without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great. This wasn’t an uninformed guy. We see in 2 Corinthians 12 that Paul has been to the third heaven. He had seen the Lord, yet Paul emphatically proclaimed that there was no debate around the magnitude of God becoming a man.
I urge you all to meditate on this. It will plunge you into the depths of God’s love for us. Imagine a redwood tree planted in a 3” flower pot and the redwood tree being allowed to grow to its fullest height unconstricted, and yet the flower pot remaining in tact and absolutely containing this redwood tree. It is impossible, but that is a small fraction of what the hypostatic union is like. Words cannot describe the magnificence of Jesus’ perfect union of flesh and divinity. I will leave you with 25 questions Max Lucado said he would ask Mary, but try asking God and see what happens. Seriously, meditate on this. It will blow you away and catapult your prayer life.
“What was it like watching Him pray? How did He respond when he saw other kids giggling during the service at synagogue? When He saw a rainbow, did He ever mention a flood? Did you ever feel awkward teaching HIm how He created the world? When He saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did He act differently? Did you ever see Him with a distant look on His face as if He were listening to someone you couldn’t hear? How did He act at funerals? Did the thought ever occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep under your own roof? Did you ever try to count the stars with Him ... and succeed? Did He ever come home with a black eye? How did He act when He got His first haircut? Did He have any friends by the name of Judas? Did He do well in school? Did you ever scold Him? Did He ever have to as a question about scripture? What do you think He thought when He saw a prostitute offering to the highest bidder the body he made? Did He ever get angry when someone was dishonest with Him? Did you ever catch Him pensively looking at the flash on His on arm while holding a clod of dirt? Did He ever wake up afraid? Who was His best friend? When someone referred to Satan, how did He act? Did you ever accidentally call Him father? What did He and His cousin John talk about as kids? Did His other brothers and sisters understand what was happening? Did you ever think, ‘That’s God eating my soup?’”
I’m urging you guys to give yourself to this. Don’t just merely say “Wow, CJ, that’s cool.” It’s not about me. It’s not about what’s cool. It’s about allowing yourself to be lost in the ecstasy of non-comprehension and thus have a greater respect for what happened that night in Bethlehem. I can’t stress enough how much this contemplation has skyrocketed my prayer life. Just try it for 30 minutes and stand in awe of how quickly comprehension leaves. Thanks for reading. Sorry this post was longer. Hope you guys have a blessed week.
In Christ,
CJ
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