Everyone I've asked remembers exactly where they were on September 11, 2001. Certain moments and events are so traumatic that our minds register a snapshot of the moment to be recalled and re-lived for the rest of our lives. Imagine if God were to appear here on earth in all His glory and power. Though this hasn’t happened yet, one day it will...
HE CAME ONCE, BUT IT WAS DIFFERENT
God already came to earth with great power, but under very different circumstances. It was not yet the time for the earth-shattering event, but the season for salvation. God did not come in full display of His glory and might — that would have been too much for humanity to bear. Instead, He did the very opposite. He emptied Himself of all glory and came hidden under a cloak of humility and simplicity, disguised as a baby hidden in the stable of Bethlehem. He came as the Servant who washes His friends’ feet, as the good Shepherd who rescues the one lost sheep, as the Savior who gives His life to grant us access to His salvation. Isaiah saw this and proclaimed:
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a
mighty arm… He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the
lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. — Isaiah 40:10-11
ADVENT
We are living the season of Advent, the time when Christians around the world remember the incarnation, the precious moment that changed earth forever and opened the way for redemption, forgiveness, abundant life, and eternal salvation. These weeks before Christmas, we celebrate the prophets who proclaimed His coming, and prepare the way for the coming of the Son of God.
CELEBRATE
This weekend marks the third Sunday of Advent. Let us celebrate, light a candle, read Scripture, seek God’s face, and prepare ourselves to re-live that moment of indescribable beauty when the God of the universe became a beautiful baby born in a stable among earth’s lowly creatures, but wrapped in heaven’s eternal glory.