When the Message Became a Person

I have been thinking a lot about communication, so this Nativity season, I've been considering how God changed His communication with us through Christmas. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to individuals, and He primarily communicated to His people through the prophets. The first great prophet was Moses, and way back in Exodus 33, Moses meets with God on Mt. Sinai. Moses asks to see God's glory, and God says that He will reveal His goodness and His name to Moses.

God uses not one word but many words to share His name with Moses. He shares part of His name this way: "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love" (Exodus 34:6). This phrase for describing God is so important that it is repeated throughout the Old Testament (see Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2).

It is clear that God wants us to know that He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and He communicated this message over and over again through the prophets and authors of Scripture. On that Christmas night over 2,000 years ago, God changed how He communicates with us. Instead of telling us with words, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3), He takes on our flesh and communicates with His whole life.

It is like the difference in communication between receiving a card from family with "I love you" written inside versus opening your front door and your loved one is there to embrace you and exclaim, "I love you!" Yet, what Jesus did is so much bigger than that. The wonder and mystery of "God with us" through Christmas to share His love with us, restore us, and make us like Him is beyond words. But here I go, using more words.

By changing how He communicated, God changed the world. I would love to do a whole series on how we can change our communication, but for now, let's focus on God's communication. One of the things that made Jesus sad and frustrated was how people were not really listening to Him. He cried out, "Let anyone with ears listen!" (Matthew 11:15). Do we have ears? Are we really listening to Jesus this Christmas?

Are we experiencing Him as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love? Are we becoming more and more like Him, and others would describe us with those same words? We are all probably struggling to truly listen to Him. Let's renew a commitment to listen to Him, to read the Scriptures, go to church, and to pray. Let's make it a truly happy Christmas by making it a healing Christmas as we love Christ, ourselves, and one another with the everlasting love of Jesus.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Luke

---

 Originally published in the Holy Apostles E-bulletin. Subscribe here.