From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.…No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:16-18 NLT-SE
I cite a reason for celebrating Christmas and for the arrival of Jesus on our planet in the first century. I wonder if you think it odd to consider this verse at Christmas?
I often put Christmas and the cross together in this season. Jesus came so my relationship with the Triune Lord could be restored to fullness. Christmas and the cross display a generous love, and a deep revelation of both God and who I am as an image-bearer in the Kingdom.
I live amidst a world of unimaginable brokenness in human relationships, conflicts in politics, and difficulties among nations. Image-bearing gets lost in the mess and deeply distorted. At a micro level, my life and its dailiness, I see pain and brokenness I cannot fix. How do you heal this stuff? Yes, the cross. Yes, reconnection to God through Jesus.
God continues speaking to me about Christmas as showing me that the Christlike life has a pattern to follow. Jesus shows me that pattern. God has had my meditations repeatedly return to Genesis 1 and 2 as I read the Gospels and look at Jesus’ life. He reveals God and He also reveals what bearing God’s image means. Jesus did this in a fallen world perfectly! This speaks deeply to my soul, especially as I consider God having made me in His image. I must pause. And listen. And follow. Jesus.
Christmas shows me my brokenness and need as well as my potential displayed in Jesus. No, I am not saying I can be God, but like Jesus (in whom the fullness of Deity dwells, Col. 2:9) and as Paul prays, there is room for filling me with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19). Healing to wholeness today in God’s Kingdom by imitating Jesus from the inside-out holds out hope for me now. God hints, “I designed you that way.” Brokenness in transformation by imitating Jesus.
I’m hearing, in gentleness through the Spirit, through the life of Jesus, I have potential for a much richer experience of God and His love. Restoration, healing, at least in part, of image-bearing, through the whispers of God in my life and the revelation of God in Jesus, allows me to hope both for now and for eternity.
As imitating Jesus from the inside-out transforms my soul, a desire to invite others share the healing power of Christmas grows stronger!
For Reflection:
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;” (Psalm 23:1-3 NAS95)
- What do you think about your potential as an image-bearer imitating Jesus from the inside-out?
- How are you cultivating your relationship with God so that your beliefs align with Jesus’?
