Our Creator’s plan to reveal Himself to humanity seems an odd choice.
If you and I were the event planners for heaven, I doubt we would have coordinated God’s entry into humanity in the humble way it played out. Our plans would probably be more along the lines of a triumphant entry in honor, esteem, and the glory due a king. Likely with His angels escorting Him from heaven in a flurry of fire and thunder. Social media would have lit up!
But as a human baby, whose royal palace was a smelly stable with a trough for a bed, and whose royal entourage included shepherds and farm animals? Ridiculous!
Why would the Creator of all choose to come to the world in such incredibly normal, even mundane conditions?
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The question echoing across the heavens must have been, “Why?”
God came to us in the most approachable way — as a helpless baby to an ordinary family. Philippians tell us that God emptied Himself of divine attributes so that He could — wait for it — be one of us.
It’s easy to read those words and not realize the magnitude of that concept. Can we even imagine what it meant for our Creator to become a lowly human?
I have 56 Christmases under my belt. It’s easy for me to become numb to the story’s significance; occasionally my sense of wonder needs to be refreshed. I try to focus on different characters in the Christmas story to gain their perspective. One group that often gets blended into the background is the angels.
We see them filling the night sky, joyfully proclaiming to the shepherds that God had become man. But I wonder what was going through their minds as they did so. They were continually in the presence of God Almighty, yet 1 Peter 1:10-12 tells they had no prior knowledge of God’s plan. It was as much a surprise to them as it was the shepherds!
When the angels learned that their Creator was to become a mere man, did they, like King David, wonder, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Born to Die” by Bebo Norman. Its chorus spells this out wonderfully:
The angels filled the sky,
All of heaven wondered why,
Why a king would choose to be,
Be a baby born to die.
When Jesus died for the sins of man, triumphantly resurrecting and proving His power over life and death, the angels clearly understood why God had come to us in human form. And they, like us, expectantly wait for Christ’s return — in all His glory! — to call His followers home. On that day, we shall join the angels in their worship of our Redeemer and King!
As we focus on the birth of Jesus this Christmas season, may you be filled with a new sense of wonder as you ponder the magnitude of your Creator’s love for you. Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Josh McDowell Ministry!
“Who are we, that our Creator would be mindful of us?”
Learn More About God
- Want to know more about God’s character? Read about the attributes of God here.
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