"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent."
Frederick Buechner’s little book of character sketches of people from the Bible has this to say about the angel Gabriel as he encounters Mary: "She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. ’You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a girl."
WHEN GOD’S SON BECAME LIKE US Philip. 2:6-7
Most every one of us has taken care of our children in wanting their lives to be better. We sent them to school to help educate them. It was the church which began education in having public schools and colleges. The church felt that people would be better equipped in this world if someone taught them knowledge of life and the things around them. There are some parents who have helped their children get through higher education in paying for their college expenses. Many of us have also tried to make the standard of living better for our children than we had. We have bought them things to make living good and perhaps better than we had as children. As we look at the passage for today there is a reversal in this in what God did for His Son. His Son was demoted from being in heaven and being worshipped to a baby born in a cave and those who first worshiped him were dirty shepherds who came in from a field of work. As we approach Christmas let us be reminded that Jesus left much to come to us to show God’s love. Let us look at three reasons He laid aside His equal ness with the Father and made Himself of no reputation.
THIS MESSAGE IS ONE WE HAVE TO OPEN OUR MINDS AND THINK ABOUT FOR IT HAS SO MANY RICH TRUTHS THAT WE NEED TO HEAR AND BELIEVE.
1. He came down to become sin so that we could become Righteous before God.
Jesus is the greatest Christmas present that we will ever have. He came wrapped in human form in our likeness. Now remember when God created man He created him in his likeness and after His image. Take time to think what Jesus has done by coming like He did. The Bible says that He became like us in every degree. He was tempted in all points like we are so He could be like. He became sin for us yet He never sinned. Think about that. What does sin do in our lives? It separates us from God. We choose to sin and in doing so we can not love God. For God hates sin. He loves the sinner but does not want him to continue in sin but to be saved from sin and live a righteous life. The Bible states that God is angry with the wicked every day. Jesus came into the world and God said, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus did everything right when He was on the earth. He did not make a mistake, he did not error in what He said, He did not fault in his actions and he was perfect in his death. If you read the Gospels you find that Pilate who judged Jesus said more than once, “I find no fault in Him.” He became sin for us so that we could step up to the level of sharing the righteousness of God. On the way to his death he carried a cross and the Bible says he fell to the ground. In falling into the dust of the earth shows us how far he went to identify with the filth of the sin of mankind. He went down to the dust of the earth so He could lift up the worst of sinners to receiving the righteousness of God. WE HAVE NO RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR OWN BUT ONLY BECAUSE he came down.
2. He came down to the lowest level of poverty so that we might have riches of God.
It was written that Jesus was in such extreme poverty that he had no where to lay his head at night. No doubt his home was with Mary until he left home then he did not have a house of his own. When it came time to pay taxes He did not have the money and had Peter get it from a fish’s mouth. On one occasion he was thirsty and had to beg from a woman at a well. His only occupation that we know of was a carpenter. He had to work by the sweat of his brow and had calluses on his hands from the work he did. In the life he was living he was able to identify himself with us so we could see we could become partakers of the riches of God’s grace and love and power. All that he has from the Father the Bible tells us is ours. We are participants of the all sufficiently of God because Christ lowered himself to a life of poverty.
3. He came down to become the Son of man so we could become the sons of God.
He became what we are so that we could become what he is. He became one with us so that we could become one with him. He participated in our humanity so we could participate of his divine power. He turned into finite so we could grow to be infinite with him. He became involved in the temporal things of our lives so we could be involved in the things of eternity. HE LEFT ALL THE GLORY OF HEAVEN TO BE BORN A MAN THAT WE ARE NOW BY SIMPLY BELIEVING IN HIS NAME ABLE TO BECOME SONS OF GOD AND BE EVELATED TO BE LIKE Jesus AND SHARE IN ALL HE HAS
It was the fact that God let His Son is demoted from being over all creation to being a part of creation that makes it possible for us to be promoted from sinful man to children of God. His coming to where we are makes it possible for us to be divine. Because He became a servant it makes the reality of us to be kings and priests.
He chooses to come down but it is us who have to choose to believe for eternal life. What is your choice today?
