Presence, Sacrifice, and Love

 Tonight was my church's Christmas Eve Eve service. I was so blessed to have shared this with my church family as well as my brother, sister-in-law Krystal, and my mom. The pastor John Mark taught on a very touching subject, the incarnation of God. Throughout history, there have been mixed/false ideas about who Jesus truly was. Some believe he was used as a shell for God to reside in while on earth, while other's might believe that who Jesus was claiming to be, was all false. That is not the way we should be looking at the "King of Kings." Jesus was both fully God and fully human. In the book of John, he shows us what Jesus was like as a person. There wasn't anything that we experience today that he didn't feel as well. Jesus was thirsty, Jesus wept, he was hungry, he even experienced death. 

There are three key points to the incarnation of God. 

1. Presence: he made his home among us, being open and available to us all. He was not far away in the cosmos like some think, but right there with humanity. God is not a cosmic therapist that we can go to on the weekend and ask for advice. The Christmas story reminds us that he is there with us every moment throughout the day. He is alive! 
2. Sacrifice: God gave up so much to be Jesus, and then as a human he gave his life! 
3. Love: Why did God give this all up for us you ask? Because of love! 

• "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

 We are absolute wrecks, and yet God still loves us. When we give him the middle finger, he says to us, "Here I am."

• "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

 We are sent to show the world what God is like! A great example of someone who loved on others and had Christ shining through them was my dad. Throughout his struggle with cancer, my daddy shared the joy of Christ despite the pain he was in. Even when he would have his hard days, not once did he complain, and question God's love for him. Thank you daddy for shining the light of Jesus for all of us to see. 

 The question we all need to think about is what would it look like for us to live incarnated? The answer is by presence, sacrifice, and love. It is so easy to lose sight of what life is all about. Let us remember that God has breathed life into each and every one of us. Yes, we were adopted into the family of Christ, and yup, I am a daughter of God.