Born Identity Series

In One Moment

In one moment, one seemingly insignificant measurement on the span of time, "The Word became flesh". In that moment, undiminished Deity became humanity. What an incomprehensible thought!

In one moment, the one for whom are all things and by whom are all things, became a thing —like you and me—God with us.

In one moment, "the Lord of Glory became a child of earth. The tiny Babe lying in the manger of Bethlehem was the One without whom was not anything made that was made. The tiny, chubby baby hand upon the cheek of the virgin mother was the hand of Him who holds the universe in the hollow of his hand. The baby arm about the mother’s neck was the arm of the one whose everlasting arms are underneath all things. The lisping words of the toddling Child of Nazareth were the words of the One who spoke the earth into being and who created a universe by the Word of His mouth."

That one moment was not filled with pomp and ceremony. You see he made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant. Jesus Christ was made a little lower than the angels and it behooved him to be made like his brethren —that is, like you and me.

We don’t like to think of him as being "just like us" but the "King of the Jews" sometimes had a dirty diaper. The "Rose of Sharon" sometimes needed a bath. The "Altogether Lovely One" sometimes needed to comb his hair, brush his teeth and wash his face. There may have been times when he had a cold or the flu or maybe even heartburn. Did you ever wonder if Joseph sometimes chided Him for not planing the board smoothly enough, or for not framing the window squarely enough? Did he have a big nose, funny teeth or bad hair days? I wonder if he had any cavities.

In one moment, that which was holy became human, spirit became flesh. The very God of very Gods entered the womb of a peasant girl.

In one moment, God took on skin and hair, teeth and toenails.

In one moment, the invisible God became the visible, touchable, pierce-able, whip-able, nail-able, Emanuel—God with us.

In one moment divinity took on the garb of humanity so that depravity might be rendered savable. The handwriting that was written against us could now be blotted out. But that blotting would not be accomplished with ink, it would not be accomplished with decrees from the courts of the finite, it would not be accomplished by the justice of the unjust, it would be accomplished, it was blotted out because in one moment the Word became flesh.

In one moment true grace appeared and we received grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

In one moment the personification of truth was revealed and now we no longer stumble in darkness. The truth of Christ is like the light of the sun multiplied by infinity, in him is no darkness at all. He is the true Light, which lights every person that comes into the world.

When the Word of God says that the Prince of Heaven humbled himself, what it is saying is simply: God with us.

In one moment God became a man. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

In one moment God became a man, fully man without sin together with undiminished deity.

In one moment, time stood still, the course of history was forever changed, and you and I were never the same people once Jesus entered the world and entered our lives.

Jimmy Gupton tells of when he was 93 and ready to go on home to God. For the 1000th time, he had prayed for God to take him home. His wife had been gone for 7 years and it was getting harder and harder to go through the motions of the holiday. He had a big silver Chritsmas tree in the attaic but attaching the 150 branches was a big job and it was almost impossible for him to see the holes to insert the branches. So he had just left it in the attic, packed away fro several years. His family was pressing for him to move in with them but he just couldn’t leave his home and lose his independence. As he sat down and watched the news, he saw a story on the Salvation Army shelter in downtown Charlotte. There were over women sleeping in the shelter, “out of work and out of hope.” Jimmy wanted to help but he didn’t have much money. He turned off the lights, said his prayers and then climbed into bed. But instead of falling asleep, he kept seeing the women at the shelter. “Those women were needing help, just like me,” he thought. And then an idea came into his head. What if two needy folks put their needs together? What if one of those women moved in and took care of the house in exchange for a place to live?