Why Christ's Incarnation Matters to Us Today

I knew Katie’s life was hard. I heard the wobble in her voice every day when I asked her how she was.

My heart ached at her description of how challenging it was to do the simplest things in a foreign country where she didn't speak the language. A trip to the grocery store took half a day. First the mile walk to the train station, then two different train rides, then two more miles to finally reach the store.

In the summer, the hundred-degree heat and humidity left her soaked in sweat and exhausted. 

She could only purchase what she was strong enough to carry in her arms or in a backpack. Two miles back to the train station, two stifling train trips, one more mile up the steep hill to her house. She purchased nothing perishable because it would spoil or melt before she arrived home. No milk. No yogurt. No cheese. And certainly, no ice cream. 

In the winter she ached with cold and slipped and slid her way back and forth on icy, snow-covered streets. 

And the loneliness. Seven miles away from the nearest American and surrounded by people whose customs were vastly different than her own, she lived in a closed culture—suspicious at best and antagonistic at worst. 

I knew her life was hard—in my head. But when I visited her, I knew it was hard—in my heart. 

I walked the miles of colorless streets with her. I sweated under the heat and humidity. I stood at the train station watching the board that announced the trains coming and going and tried to make sense of the scrolling foreign characters. 

I squeezed onto a train, praying it was the right one and tried not to offend anyone by making accidental eye-contact. I lugged groceries up that final hill and collapsed in weariness in that empty house. 

Only to do it all again the next day. 

I thought I had known, but now I knew. 

Jesus Christ, the eternal God, all-knowing, all powerful, all present, knew the struggles mankind faced. 

But then He came to earth. 

John 1:14 tells us, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” 

The Greek word, skēnóō, means to tabernacle. Strong’s concordance defines it as, “to fix one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent)." 

On that first Christmas morning, God the Son tabernacled among us. He pitched his tent and lived where we lived. 

He experienced the challenges of earning a living in a world of thorns and thistles. He felt the pains of hunger and the fever of sickness. His muscles ached after a hard day’s work, and His head clouded with fatigue at the end of the day. His heart broke at the sight of lost people wandering about in their search for purpose and hope. 

He struggled to resist temptation and remain pure. He sobbed great heaving sobs at the grave of a friend. He experienced loneliness when his closest friends betrayed and abandoned Him. And then He walked the valley of the shadow of death. 

As God the Son, He knew. But when He became flesh, when He pitched His tent and dwelt among us, He knew. 

When I returned from my trip, fresh from the experiences of living with Katie and walking in her footsteps, I knew how to pray for her. 

Every day thereafter I sat before the Father and interceded on her behalf. 

Lord, help her rise to face another day. Give her strength to make that long journey. Speak truth to her so she won’t feel discouraged. Surround her with Your presence so she won’t feel alone. Empower her to do what she has to do today. Send kind people to come alongside her and lift her burden. Remind her that you are near. 

When Jesus returned to heaven, He brought with Him experiential insight He never had before. Because He pitched His tent among us and walked in our footsteps, He knows how to pray for us. 

Now, seated in heaven, He intercedes for us as a faithful and sympathetic High Priest. 

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,” Hebrews 4:14 reminds us, “but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” And He “always lives to make intercession” for us” (Hebrews 7:25). 

Picture that. Christ—our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend—brings our needs before God’s throne and intercedes for us. Every day of our lives. 

Lord, help her rise to face another day. Give her strength to make that long journey. Speak truth to her so she won’t feel discouraged. Surround her with Your presence so she won’t feel alone. Empower her to do what she has to do today. Send kind people to come alongside her and lift her burden. Remind her that you are always near. 

This Christmas ponder the wonder of the incarnation. Of Immanuel, God with us.

Now it's your turn. What aspect of Christ's incarnation brings you the most wonder? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

 

Christmas is fast approaching. Wouldn't you love to knock out a chunk of your Christmas shopping and impact your loved ones for eternity?

Would you like to give an extra-special gift? 

One that will:

*refresh a person's faith?

*encourage someone to explore the Bible? 

*inspire busy women to get to know God better?

*unlock uncommon verses and awaken interest in God's Word?

*jumpstart your quiet time?

*make a great companion to your 2021 devotional reading?

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