The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"Born. Born Again."
God, the living and true God, the second Person of the Trinity, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the One who gives to all life and breath and all things, became a baby.
"Ye shall find the Babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
If the thought does not take our breath away, it is only because the familiarity of the story tempts us to pass by the manger without falling to our knees and faces in utter astonishment. Some may do so in ignorance and/or unbelief, which, while certainly not an excuse, does offer an explanation for the absence of wonder. For the believer, however, no excuse suffices. We must not allow familiarity with the Incarnation to foster complacency regarding its seeming impossibility. No less than the Apostle Paul acknowledged his inability to fathom so great an enigma. "Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16).
The wonder of our Lord's birth as a human baby also elicits fascination regarding another miracle, namely, our new birth as spiritual temples of the living God. The same Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary's womb to physically conceive Christ more than overshadows all who trust the Lord Jesus. He rather indwells our spirits, birthing a "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). This could not have occurred were it not for the eternal Son of God becoming the earthly son of man. The Baby found in the manger of Bethlehem would one day be found as our sinbearer on the cross of Calvary. Thereby, He died for our sins, made atonement for them, and then rose again from the dead as a living Savior to all who believe. He returned to Heaven and sent forth the Holy Spirit to enter into trusting hearts, a miracle of grace and mercy no less wondrous in our spirits than the miracle of conception in Mary's womb. Yes, because the Baby was born, human spirits can be born again (John 3:7).
Our new birth and the everlasting life it bequeaths required our Savior's birth. Had He not become human, we could not have become "partakers of the divine nature" through the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence (II Peter 1:4). Wonder? The word is not big enough, nor the experience of being utterly fascinated and overwhelmed by God's "unspeakable gift" made possible by an indescribable miracle (II Corinthians 9:15). Wonder is nevertheless what we have, and that which we will experience as we choose to not pass by the manger, but rather to let its glory again and again bring us to our knees and faces…
"The Word was made flesh."
(John 1:14)
Weekly Memory Verse
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things."
(John 14:26).
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