Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Not Obvious, But Astounding

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

I have grown up always knowing the story (praise God!) and thus often taking it for granted--thinking it obvious and normal that God took on flesh and lived among us. Heaven forbid! Nothing could be more astounding: "the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinitely holy Son of God took on a human nature and lived among humanity as one who was both God and man at the same time, in one person...This is the most amazing event in all of history!"*

In case I've never mentioned it here, my very favorite music for stirring my heart to worship the Word made flesh at Christmastime:

Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ

You can download it here for a last-minute gift or your own Christmas Day listening :) 

The album goes through the old, old story, from the Passover to Jesus' birth, telling the familiar stories that point to Christ. It begins with this beautiful quote from Sally Lloyd-Jones:
    No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!
    It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of the story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

May God fill you with joy and wonder as you celebrate the Savior's birth!


[*quote from ESV Study Bible notes on John 1]

1 comment:

Danielle said...

I bought the book by the same title by Russ Ramsey for my advent reading. You may want to check it out. I've not heard the album, though.