The incarnation is a fancy theological term which simply means “God made flesh”. It is one of the core tenants of Christianity, and without this fundamental belief a person cannot rightly call himself a Christian. You see, Christians do not simply believe that Jesus was a good moral teacher, a miracle worker, or even a prophet. Rather, he was God… incarnate. Fully God and fully man!
For this post, I’m going to keep it short and leave you with two terrific quotes on the incarnation of Christ. The first quote is from Kevin Chiarot (WORLD magazine, November 24, 2001, pp 26-27):
The Incarnation provides a uniquely Christian response to human tragedy. God stands with us in it, bearing our sorrow, responding to humanity’s suffering by entering it. Finally, in that most desolate of cries, “ My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” we see Christ at the bottom of the abyss. We see God wearing our humanity, entering our desolation, and drinking the cup of all that contradicts His own goodness. Draining the venom of human misery from the inside out, by death He tramples down death.
The second quote is from J.B. Phillips (Ring of Truth, 1967):
I have heard professing Christians of our own day speak as though the historicity of the Gospels does not matter—all that matters is the contemporary Spirit of Christ. I contend that the historicity does matter, and I do not see why we, who live nearly two thousand years later, should call into question an Event for which there were many eye-witnesses still living at the time when most of the New Testament was written. It was no “cunningly devised fable” but an historic irruption of God into human history which gave birth to a young church so sturdy that the pagan world could not stifle or destroy it.
In the hustle and bustle of Christmastime, it is good for my soul to step back and reflect on this amazing truth—that the God of the universe broke into human history by becoming a man. It fills me with great wonder… and hope!
