A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Because of Bethlehem (with Bonus Content): Love Is Born, Hope Is Here (p. 108). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
Have you ever given a significant gift that you wrapped in an ordinary box so they wouldn’t guess what it was? It was an incredible gift that you gave them to show them you loved them. And they were really surprised. It's a fact, “a remarkable gift can arrive in an unremarkable package.”
Max says, “One did in Bethlehem. No one expected God to come the way he did.”
Max later says, “He entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection.”
He continues, “Jesus descended the ladder of incarnation one rung at a time. In nature, God. He did not grasp equality with God. He made himself nothing. He took on the form of a servant. He submitted himself to death. Even death on a cross. Down, down, down, down. From heaven’s crown to Bethlehem’s cradle to Jerusalem’s cross.”
He did all that because He loves us.
Later Max says, “By the way, Jesus has not surrendered his earthly body. The incarnation that began in Bethlehem continues at this moment in the heavens. When Jesus ascended, he did so in a human body. Having become a man, he will never cease to be a man. The God-in-the-flesh remains exactly that!
“Why does this matter? There is a human being in charge of the universe. Glorified, for sure. Exalted, by all means. Utterly divine, certainly. But still, the hand that directs the affairs of humanity is the same hand that held a hammer in Nazareth. In the center of that hand is a scar, an eternal reminder of God’s eternal love.
Max then says, “Bow before him. Humble yourself before the One who humbled himself for you. And to think, it all began in the most inconspicuous of places: a hay box in Bethlehem.”
But, oh how His coming has made a difference. Has He made a difference in your life?
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