Day 6
The Incarnate Deity
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
~from “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
What kind of God trades the glory and the splendor and the riches of Heaven, for the cold, filthy, reeking harshness of a Bethlehem stable?
A God of love, that’s what kind.
Philippians 2:7–8 says that Jesus “gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (NLT).
Would you become a cockroach to save other cockroaches? Of course not. But the condescension of Jesus was so much greater than even that, for our sin and shame make us much more repugnant than cockroaches.
Yet while we were still sinners, Jesus put on flesh, was “pleased as man with men to dwell,” and He willingly died for us. Jesus—our Emmanuel. God with us.
When is the last time you thanked God for stooping down to your level?