Incarnation and You

Heart to Heart from the Housewrights…

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son - John 1:6-14 (NLT)

“The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding…” Martin Luther, Table Talk.

There are many theological terms which are elusive to the normal Christian: soteriology; ontological; salvific; cessationist; antinomianism; epistemology…whew, brain freeze.

But, there is one term which we should all know and understand: incarnation.

During the Christian seasons of Advent and Christmas-time the family of Christ remembers and celebrates the fact of the incarnation. So, what is it? What does incarnation mean?

Incarnation simply means this: a particular form of physical state; the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form. Specifically, as the Christian faith is concerned: the union of the Divine with humanity in the form of Jesus Christ.

It is why the gospel of John begins by sharing this truth: “So the Word became human and made his home among us.” God (Divine) came to his creation and became one of us (human).

Geoff Moore and the Distance had a song called “One of Us.” The lyrics are:

How could He know much less sympathize with one who has fallen as often as I

To a world that was lost how could He show us the way

This mystery I don't understand, somehow our God became a man.

To every child to every man Who's longing for someone Who will understand

To each tender heart crying alone in the night

Lift up your eyes to a holy King - Who's walked the road of humanity

He was one of us - somehow like you and me - the God we serve breathed the air that we breathe. He stood where we stand, so He knows what we need - He was one of us.

He was one of us.

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.

One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!"

The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

“You have given yourself!”

God was/is willing to make most any accommodation to have fellowship with us. Even becoming human. God has given himself. Incarnation.

Someone has written:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If your greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

As much as we love the above thoughts - perhaps we would tweak that last sentence by saying this: “Our greatest need is relationship - so God sent himself.”

Now, let’s apply this knowledge and truth of the incarnation to each of our lives. God has sent YOU to where you are, to be with who you are with, to share what he has entrusted to you, to bless those whose paths you cross.

Today, tomorrow - every day left in your life - is a day of the incarnation. YOU are the heart, voice, hands and feet of Christ to a world in desperate need of good news.

Maybe that’s why Jesus’ command to his disciples was “Go.”

"Ground Beef and Gas - Does God Care?"

11-09-2021

Then the LORD said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!’” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah. 

 (I Kings 17:8-16)

Many people are becoming more and more aware and worried about our economic future. There is already the unfortunate rise of “shrink-flation” where we are getting less but it is costing more. According to the Wall Street Journal: “Supermarkets say shoppers are buying more store-brand meat products and trading down from beef to less-expensive alternatives such as chicken or pork, after prices for products such as rib-eye climbed about 40% from a year ago...Some consumers are replacing boneless chicken breast with cheaper bone-in chicken, retailers said…”Everybody is trying to find something that fits within their wallet.” (Consumers Trade Rib-eye for Ground Beef as Grocery Prices Rise - Wall Street Journal Report 11/07/2021)

With all of us already dealing with the fastest price increases in decades, another major issue is just on the horizon: a widely expected increase in winter heating bills. Energy prices have soared and natural gas, used to heat almost half of U.S. households, has almost doubled in price since this time last year. That’s not to even mention fuel for our vehicles.

That’s not a lot of good news. Especially with the holidays already here. What does it all mean for the community of faith? People are going to need our help more than ever. We are going to need one another more than ever.

In our text from I Kings we read one of the more intriguing stories from the Old Testament. Here are a few things to take from it and how they apply to the current, and unfortunately, dire financial situation we find ourselves in.

One, God called Elijah...to go. God is still calling us today and He is calling us to go. None of us has been created to simply live to ourselves. We are called from focusing on ourselves and our situations to go to others and meet their needs. Go. Hear the need. See the need. Understand the need. Meet the need.

Two, God had someone in place to take care of Elijah. Elijah was released from worrying about himself as God had already prepared - in his wisdom - for the very person Elijah was to stay with to actually take care of his needs! In God’s providence and knowledge he knew how everything would play out and had prepared accordingly. Still, there was one thing necessary to set it all in motion...

Three, Elijah’s obedience. The prophet’s willingness to do exactly as God commanded is the one part of the equation that released God’s blessing. It’s simple mathematics actually: A + B = C. You take any portion of that equation away and there is no correct answer. It is impossible.

And such it is with God’s promise to his children to care for them. God promises to love us...and we, in response, should love him and one another. God cares for you. You care for us. God cares for us. We care for you. It’s that simple.

And it’s necessary. Especially in times such as these. There may be shortages of gas, heat, food, water, toilet paper, etc. But, let it never be said that there is a shortage of love. Especially among the children of God.

How completely dependent upon God we are for the common, everyday, necessary things of life! And yet we are prone to forget the truth that we need one another as well. Depend upon God and depend upon God’s people. Let us not forget that.

Were we to travel back in time and take an inventory of this poor widow's resources, how short it would be! A little meal in a barrel and a little in a bowl. Were we to walk around her cottage, we would find nothing of substance in it. There is little doubt her furniture had all been sold before her last desperate resolution was taken...eat and die.

The story of the widow of Zarephath is an illustration of the process that every day goes on in many homes: the selling of goods to the pawn shop to buy some food for the week, precious objects and heirlooms sold to pay for housing, searching for change to purchase diapers...sometimes the very necessities of life are given up by parents so their children will have clothes to keep them warm as winter inches closer.

Yes, sometimes these sad situations are the result of mindless spending, bad money decisions, or just plain rotten luck. But too often they are the sad results of generational poverty, unexpected medical emergencies, loss of income, drugs and other unforeseen family issues.

How critical it is for us to remember God desires to supply us “our daily bread.” After all - everything in the earth is his and at his disposal including “two fish and five loaves of bread.” All for the care of his children. Elijah was supplied by the ravens and a poor widow...how will God provide for us this week? How will we provide for one another?

PS - as we finish this tonight...our car broke down on Missy on the way to the Bible study she leads. It’s sitting on a side street. Tomorrow we will try to get it fixed. We trust God has already worked that out and we pray that whatever you are facing God will work that out as well. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way...”

Missy and Steve