Today's Devotional - The Word became flesh

15 December

15 Dec 21

John 1:14
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John opens his Gospel with:
“In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.”

He goes on to recap how all things were created by this “Word” The spoken word of God. and now this same physical representation of God has made his home among us. Jesus Became Human. Let’s talk a bit about why that is massively important.

Through Christ, we see a visible representation of the invisible God. We see the glory of the Father through the son. We see a model for how we should live, dying to self and serving with total humility. We see in Jesus, true love that can only come from God.

But he also came to die on the cross. For ages, the Levitical sacrificial system had been in place to ‘cleanse’ the people of their sins. It required blood to cover sin, but the blood of an animal was never enough to totally pay for the sin of mankind. Only the Blood of a perfect human could cover our sin. Thus It ‘pleased God to crush his only son’ (isa 53:10) to make an offering for our sin and create a way to be reconciled with God.

On a more personal level Jesus’ becoming human has another powerful meaning. It is that God is deeply and intimately involved with human life, your life. He didn’t have to come as an infant and grow to be a man before becoming the ultimate sacrifice. This shows us that he truly understands us. He was tempted in all the same ways that you and I are yet lived a perfect life. He deeply understands human thought and emotion, sadness and joy. Finally on the cross, replaces the sacrificial system and becomes our new high priest. The final intercession on our behalf.

Hebrews 4:14-16
“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Reflection:

Have you ever thought about the significance of Jesus being both fully man and fully God? What is the significance in your life?

How does Jesus’ empathy serve as a model for your life and how you empathize with or treat others?

We see the Glory of the Father through Christ, how can you show Christ to the world around you today?