A SIGN –A STATEMENT THAT WORDS CANNOT SAY 

    The apostle Paul told Timothy that the incarnation was a great mystery: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." (1Timothy 3:6)

   One reason it is such a mystery is that the idea is too big to get our heads around. The incarnation is perhaps the single most significant act of God since the creation. Yet Isaiah prophesied it in a simple manner:

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) 

It was fulfilled in Jesus birth:

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (Matthew 1:23) 

     Jesus was not called Emmanuel; He was Emmanuel, “God with us”. As He walked among us He was able to say,  "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:7-11) 

    Like Philip, people today are wondering what God is really like. Even believers sometimes have  the wrong impression of Him. To hear some describe Him, you would think He is old, short-tempered, stingy, and half-mean. You would think that His silence when we pray means no! As you read the four gospels that describe Jesus going from village to village, you can see what God is really like. Jesus is God in the flesh. You can see He cares about our children, our fears, our food, our total well-being… and He didn’t go around making anyone sick! He answered all of their questions, and taught them a way of life that was more fulfilling. He also sat with people right where they were at, accepting them as they were. He showed the same intolerance we have for those religious bodies that add a burden to people rather than relieve them. He also spoke against the same hypocritical offenses we all disdain, which keeps sincere seekers from entering into the Kingdom. If you were with Phillip when he asked, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." You would be surprised by the straightforwardness of His answer: Jesus said to him, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father?’” (Verse 9) 

WHAT A STRETCH 

    It is hard to imagine the great distance Jesus traversed in coming to us. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8) 

    First, being born as a man was quite a stoop. Not just any man, but He was born among the poor. Mary offered a dove at His dedication, which was a sacrifice reserved only for the poorest in Israel. He was not born in a palace nor did He wear purple. In fact, He could not have been born any lower-- he was born in a stable. He became even poorer in order to make us rich. He also became the servant, not the one being served. In the end He was charged as a criminal, though He had done nothing wrong, and hung on a cross among criminals. Amazing identification!

     While in India, I first began to become aware of the amazing distance God has come toward us. After spending my first night alone in Calcutta, I was ready to go home. I had heard about some German Evangelists who would not even leave the airport. They were so shocked, that they got on the next flight out. That night I lost all my earlier criticism of them. I found it so difficult that the idea of having to spend another two weeks in India was almost more than I could bear. The most difficult place was still ahead of me in the jungle region. As I pondered this, I began to slip into the darkness of fear and depression. How would I survive? As I sat on the edge of the bed, I forced myself to sing a song aloud to the Lord, just to keep from sinking further into despair.  It was at this point that the Presence of the Lord came to my room. Although I did not see Him with my eyes or hear Him with my ears, He was there with me. The first thing He communicated to me was that He, too, had left His home to come to such a place. I knew that He wasn’t minimizing what I was doing by comparison, but, I could not miss that fact that what I was doing by leaving Beaver Falls, New York, was nothing compared to His leaving that peace filled place to come into this dark sphere. I had never thought about how far His condescension was until that moment.

     He told me that He was pleased that I willingly came to India to minister.  He said, "I will never forget your willingness to come and minister in My name, and to share love and hope with My people".

    All I could do was weep as I considered His love for me and for the people of India. As I went from one jungle village to another, these words replayed in my mind. They would continue to bring me to tears throughout my stay. I would need the encouragement as we rode our motorcycle through herds of buffalo or when we faced the threat of wild elephants. I was mindful of it as I walked into a village of lepers or stood to preach before primitive tribal people. His encouragement helped me face every obstacle with joy and determination.

    Another time we were in a remote jungle village that was, basically, mud huts facing each other on both sides of a path. The people sat in front of their huts listening to us share. We were part way through preaching when a cowboy began to drive his cows toward us. Everyone had to get up and get out of the way to let them pass. As we waited for things to settle back down, I watched the cows climb up bamboo ramps into their stalls for the night. It suddenly hit me that Jesus was born in a stable. The picture books I read to my children always made the stables look nice and warm. The mangers we use for the Christmas plays are always well built and clean. But you wouldn’t set your baby in one of these mangers. It occurred to me that no one really takes time and care in building a stable. They don’t use their best materials nor do they take care to keep them really clean. Again, it dawned on me how far God came for us, leaving the splendor of Heaven and being born in a stable.  

WE ARE INVITED TO BE INCARNATE 

     Jesus came and identified with us. Now we are asked to follow His example in order to be there for others: "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, {2} that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." (1 Peter 4:1-2)

    People can tell if you are really with them or not. They can sense it. They can feel when a pastor is speaking from the pulpit as one of them, or as someone who thinks he is above them. Unbelievers wonder if we really want them in our lives, or if we just want them added to our roles. They can tell if we are sharing what we have found with them because we love them or if we are just trying to get another notch carved in our “gospel belt”.

     The alternative to identifying with people in their need is to spend the rest of our lives serving ourselves and our own desires. I have thought about this many times. Here are some deep questions I still grapple with. Am I willing to be discomforted so that others can be comforted? Would I be willing to suffer so that others can be relieved of their suffering? Would you be willing to become financially inconvenienced so that others may be better off? I don’t live at this level of commitment all the time, but I want to visit there more often. There have been others whose example inspires me. Such as Joseph Damien, a missionary in the nineteenth century, who ministered to the lepers in Hawaii. Each morning Joseph led a time of worship with the lepers. One day he was pouring some hot water into a cup and it splashed onto his bare foot. It took him a moment to realize that he was not feeling any pain. He was gripped by the sudden fear of what this meant. He poured more hot water on his foot to confirm the fact that he had no feeling in it whatsoever.

    He went to the Bible Study and instead of beginning the sermon with, “Good morning my fellow believers”, he began with, “My fellow lepers.” Even though he had always identified with the people he was serving, that morning he had become more incarnate than ever before. (Adapted from Ravi Zacharias in “Deliver us From Evil”) 

   I have a French-Canadian brother who takes short-term trips to Romania several times a year and stays in the homes of some of the poorest believers. Once, he quietly told me how hard the conditions were for him. I asked him what he ate when he stayed with them. With some reluctance he began to say that once he was in a home and happened to walk passed the kitchen where the women were preparing a simple meal. He said he was shocked to see them squeezing the undigested cud from the intestines of a freshly killed lamb into the soup. I curled up my nose and asked him if he ate it. He looked at me for a moment, his eyes searching my face to see if it was safe to answer or not. He did not want to boast, nor did he want to minimize the sacrificial hospitality he had been shown. He was obviously searching for a way to let me know that food was not the issue with him. After a minute he finally blurted out, “Penn, I wanted to be with them!”

     I rocked back in my chair, hit by the force of his passion for the poor and by a revelation. “Jean-Claude,” I exclaimed, “That’s the incarnation.” He leaned forward and his eyes widened as he took in the idea, and said, “Yes! That’s the word. I remember it from my days in seminary. That’s the word exactly! I wanted to be incarnate” 

THE BOWELS OF CHRIST 

    I have read the following verse many times, not taking the time to understand what it meant. Then as the concept of the incarnation began to grow in me, I caught a glimpse of what Paul was experiencing when he wrote: "For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:8)

    I believe the apostle was saying, “I feel something of what Jesus must feel inside Him about you.” This verse convicts me about my shallow heart condition as a pastor and missionary. It is a rare internal discomfort that I wish I suffered from more. This condition is a goal I strive toward as I reach out to the lost. It also answers the question, “Aren’t you glad God didn’t just send money?”