Reflections at Christmas 12

John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

Before Christ’s incarnation, we could not perceive or understand God. We were caught up in mythologies of our own making. Rather than understanding and worshipping the Creator in whose image we are made, we pledged allegiance to idols we created in our likeness. We manufactured our own light and forged our own way, which we promptly lost.

Only One - the Eternal Word, the Light, the Way – could convey the heart of God. Only the One that was with Him in the beginning and in perfect unison with Him could reveal Him to us. Patiently Christ unfolded for us the character of God and invited us back to relationship with our Father. Where we had been blind before, we could see! And in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God, fully human, we were able to realize God’s love.

It is a love that isn’t possessed but personified. It is a love that holds nothing back but gives everything to reach His wayward children. It is sacrificial and long-suffering. And we – you and I – are the objects of Love’s focus. He is always pursuing, always faithful. And for those who have stopped running and been enfolded into His arms, He is Father perfected. For those who still run, He is perfectly patient and waiting, still calling you home.