The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14 KJV
We know from St. John’s earlier verses that “The Word” refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was already present at the time God-the-Father created a perfect world and made man its crowning glory. Can you imagine seeing that perfection devastated by sin? Can you imagine a plan for re-creating that perfection? And requiring that Your only Son’s perfect life would be the price to regain the lost perfection? And then imagine calling that price “Love.”
Imagine what it was like when the Living God became a flesh-and-blood human being in order to dwell among us. For Creator to become created? To leave the perfection of Heaven and come to this sin-filled Earth? To dwell as a mere mortal? The Creator walking amongst His creation? Imagine the things He noticed and the sadness that gripped Him to see His creation in the clutches of sin and willfully making sinful choices.
Can you imagine making a sacrifice like that?
Probably not—our idea of sacrifice involves passing up on dessert or missing a favorite activity or putting in extra hours at work. So when we consider His sacrifice we are left breathless at the enormity of His love for us! Wow—can you imagine the depth of His love?
Our modern society has commercialized and idealized the celebration of Christ’s birth to such an extent that we overlook the very earthy aspects of Christ’s arrival as our Savior.
Lest we forget what the REAL Christmas was like, consider these facts: stables reek of manure, sticky cobwebs hang in the corners, and scratchy straw clings to clothes. His parents were incredibly poor—they could only afford the humblest offering when He was dedicated at the Temple a few days after His birth.
And we also tend to forget the eternal aspects of His birth: the love pouring down—down through the ages—to this very day—to you and to me. He did it for you. He did it for me.
Just imagine.
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