Advent 8 - Scripture

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”

Mark Phillips says he likes this verse because it helps him see God as his father but he often gets to think of Jesus as his brother. The “Big Brother” he never had but is always there for him.

Christmas is about God becoming real to us. “In the flesh” is both a statement of physical matter but also relational experience. Sure, you could say God is in everything and you would be kind of right. The fingerprints of the creator are all over creation. But in the flesh? This means that God knows, as we know, what it is to have a brother, sister, father, son, cousin, etc. Who wouldn’t like a big brother looking out for us? Jesus is all this and more. Christ “in the flesh” isn’t so much about God seeing things differently, but about us finding a way to accept God.

Have you watched a movie where they’ve used computer generated graphics to produce a human? They aren’t fooling anyone. We all recognize that they are fake. But Jesus? “In the flesh” means he’s the real deal. Praise be to Jesus that we can accept him as one of our own just as he’s accepted us as one of his. This Christmas, we hope you’ll see God “in the flesh” more often and help God to show up for others in the same way.
Photo by Pixabay

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