Jesus: All Man, All God

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    It is the season of Christmas! What a special time of year as we pause and focus on the birth of our Saviour.  The truly amazing miracle of God becoming man in the form of a baby is worthy a lifetime or more of meditation and praise.  I would love to share just a few random thoughts that have been going through my mind as I prepare my heart for this Christmas season

    The gospels tell us all about the life of Jesus as a man. Hebrews tells us why it was important that Jesus, as God, became a man. Hebrews 2:17 tells us: 

"He had to be made like His brothers  in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

    In order to be the Savior for humanity, it was necessary that that Savior be a man.  Yet, it was also necessary that he be fully God.  The perfect solution was that God became man.  So Jesus willingly came to earth with the redemption of mankind as His sole purpose. 

   Pastor Rob taught on this Sunday and covered this much better than I can in this short devotion. If you didn't catch that sermon, go pull it up and listen! The virgin birth is of critical importance to this fact that Jesus was fully man and is fully God. Every man is born of a woman, but only God could become man, concieved by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. 

    Jesus' name is further evidence of His humanity and His deity.  His name was announced by the angels before He was even conceived. It was chosen by God (His Father) hundreds of years before He was born. Isaiah 7:14 tells us His name:

"Behold! a virgin shall bring forth a son and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

    One of the names of Jesus tells us that He is God -- God with us. 

    The very name "Jesus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew name, Joshua.  Both Joshua and Jesus mean, "Jehovah is salvation."  Even the name of Jesus points us to salvation and to the God who provides. 

    We can never, as finite humanity, fully comprehend the mystery and the full implications of God's character.  However, we can strive to understand more of it.  To better appreciate the gift that He gave us in the person of Jesus, we must understand our desperate need for a Savior.  If there was no need for a Savior, Jesus would not have needed to come.  But we did. And He did.  Praise God for His provision. 

    Understanding our depravity and hopeless situation apart from Jesus, drives us to fall on our knees before the King of Heaven who came in the form of a baby.  In the shadow of the cross, He grew and lived like you and I to be the perfect bridge between humanity and Deity. 

    Many of the advent meditations during this season talk about Hope, Love,  and Light in the Darkness.  Each of those are beautiful and wondrous concepts to ponder.  Jesus is the fulfillment of each of those.  My meditation this month has been on the God who became man for the purpose of salvation.  Before Him, every knee will bow.  He is the only one worthy of all of our praise. 

Merry Christmas!

💓 Heather Sparks💓

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