“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV)
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV)
Carefully consider these Scripture passages. Read them again. Think about what is being conveyed to us. It is not easy for humans to stoop so low as Christ did in his coming to us. We don’t abandon our self-esteem and self-confidence so easily. Of course, it wasn’t easy for the Eternal Logos either.
Christ, the Logos, humbled himself reaching down to the lowest strata of human life. The songwriter penned, “when I could not go to where he was, he came to me.” Our Lord and Savior reached down with himself — not just hands but in body — to remove the scales from our eyes so that we might see the fullness of his grace and truth in the glory of God.
He birthed himself into human flesh that the mercy of God, the salvation of God, and the wisdom of God could be received by human beings. This expression of God’s truth is beyond human comprehension. We cannot fully grasp the wisdom of our Creator, yet He deposited himself in humble, weak humanity so that his infinite grace could be known and understood within the limitations of human experience.
Easy submission? No. Easy discipleship? No. Yet, when we envision Calvary in all its horrible glory — Christ clothed in our weakness and sin — then our hearts may be moved to release our pride and self-confidence. The ugliness of the Cross shows us the extent of the Creator’s love for his creation: “For God loved the world so much . . .” (John 3:16). When we get tired and weary of trusting ourselves, we can cast ourselves in faith upon his work at Calvary and be assured of his forgiveness and grace.
When we repent of our sins, he who “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, . . .” washes us in his blood and clothes us with his righteousness.
Dear Father, thank you for your grace and truth we have in Christ Jesus. Grant that we may rejoice in it daily and share it with others. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be courageous today in God’s grace and truth,