Level Pegging

Mart De Haan told a story thus:

“My son and his wife have a 120-pound American bulldog with a powerful body and a fearsome face. Yet until we became friends, “Buddy” was not sure he could trust me. As long as I was on my feet, he would keep his distance and would not look at me in the eye. Then one day I learned that if I would get down on the ground, the mood of Buddy’s big-jowled face would change. Sensing I was no longer a threat, he’d come running like a freight train, pounce on me with his big feet, and want me to scratch his muscular neck”.

God chose throughout the Old Testament to reveal himself and His will to His chosen people specifically and to all people in general through the prophets. He has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says--powerful words!

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood and lived amongst us. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word."

We can sense the greatness of God’s love and compassion for us in that He sent His Son to become a man to take our place and die for our sins. From His lowly birth to the suffering on the cross to the power of His resurrection, Jesus’ life was the ultimate expression of God’s desire for us to know Him.

Just like Buddy in the story above, God came down to our level and lived among us in the person of Christ. From the day that our first parents sinned and hid from the presence of the Lord, our tendency has been to be afraid of coming to a high and holy God on His terms. God showed how low He was willing to go to bring us to Himself. By adopting the form of a lowly servant, our Creator lived and died to disarm our wrongs. Even now, He is coaxing us from the cover of our spiritual darkness to call us friends. How can we still be afraid to trust Him?

Entering the human family as a baby allowed God to reveal himself to us in a way in which we could better understand Him. Let us therefore, allow the true meaning of Christmas to guide our thoughts and actions.