“For the Son of God, the incarnation meant a whole new set of relationships: with his father and mother; with his brothers and sisters; with his disciples; with the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees; with Roman soldiers and with lepers and prostitutes. It was within these relationship that he lived his incarnate life, experiencing pain, poverty, and temptation; witnessing squalor and brutality; hearing obscenities and profanities and the hopeless cry of the oppressed. He lived not in sublime detachment or in ascetic isolation, but ‘with us’, as ‘the fellowman of all men’, crowded, busy, harassed, stressed and molested. No large estate gave him space, no financial capital guaranteed his daily bread, no personal staff protected him from interruptions and no power or influence protected him from injustice. He saved us from alongside us.”
– Donald MacLeod, The Person of Christ, page 180
I know this is not easily a merry Christmas for all of you. I know that some of you face Christmas this year with loss and hurt and confusion and frustration and sadness and loneliness and fear.
Jesus knew these things, too.
So, may you find this Christmas blessed because of the One who came to save us from alongside us.
Anonymous
Great post! He truly was our wonderful counselor. Reminds me of a writing from Spurgeon from 2 Samule 15:23. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/morneve.d0531am.htmlMerry Christmas!