We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (NIV)
I was adopted at birth, but my adoptive father died when I was only two years old. Having grown up without a father, I found it difficult to relate to God as a father. I had no frame of reference for what a loving father should look like until my husband and I had our own children. Only then was I able to fully grasp the unconditional love a father can have for his children.
While a few prophets of the Old Testament had encounters with God, nobody had ever seen his face. At the time of Christ’s birth, the Jewish people had not heard a prophetic word from God in over 400 years. They had the written law as a guide, but the people were walking in darkness. Just like me, they needed a visual example to comprehend God’s unconditional and unending love.
God, being fully divine, became flesh in the form of Jesus. He didn’t just imitate a human; he became vulnerable human flesh, complete with human feelings and emotions. Full of grace and truth, he befriended sinners, healed the sick, and spoke God’s wisdom when he taught. Because Jesus dwelt among us, we can trust that he can relate to our human emotions and feelings. Through Jesus, the people were able to see and understand the importance of a relationship with God. Jesus became the visible expression of the invisible God.
God could have changed the law requiring sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins; however, he chose to become human in the form of Jesus Christ to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. By His Grace, Jesus, who was blameless and pure, took on every single sin on Earth which had destroyed our relationship with God, our loving Father. In this Advent season, as we wait expectantly for Jesus’s return, we can be assured of his love for us. The gift of salvation is yours. Are you willing to accept it?
