All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) (Matthew 1:22-23 NIV).
Let’s put another gift of the incarnation under the tree, shall we?
God breathed into His human creation His image. That in itself was gift! And the coming of Jesus, in human likeness—for the sake of restoring and recreating that image corrupted by sin—is yet another gift added to the first.
To reason along the theological lines of Athanasius, God put on flesh to recreate the image of God in us. The incarnation marked the start of the possibility for a new beginning.
Only the Creator can recreate the created to bear the image of God. Jesus, and only Jesus, makes it possible for us to be recreated into His likeness, restoring the image of God in us.
The image in the created is being recreated by the Creator! The grace of it is cause for such grand celebration in this season of joy and commemoration.
I remember an occasion on a festive Christmas morning when my children were young. One of the toys I gave them was broken that very same day. I couldn’t stand to let it remain that way, casting shadow across the celebrations. No, I did everything in my power to fix it. Well, God refused to allow that image in our inner being to remain broken. It would not remain in death but be raised to new life. So, Jesus came—wearing humanity—so the image of God lost could be restored.
The apostle Paul assures that “we all are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). So, behold His glory! Draw near daily and meditate upon His glory. His incarnation. His gifts. It’s sure to transform your season . . . and you as well.
Holy God, our Lord, though being in very nature God, did not consider equality with You something to be used to His advantage. Rather, He took on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Coming as a Man, though also fully God, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death (adapted from Philippians 2:6-8). We are profoundly grateful for such gifts of grace. Father, continue to be gracious to us and bless us; make Your face shine upon us so that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations (adapted from Psalm 67:1-2).
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