God Did Not Post on FB
In the past God spoke to our ancestors
through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of
all things, and through whom also he made the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2).
God did not choose social networking to
get our attention, to show us His majesty, to reveal His love, to offer us a
way to make it back home. Our heavenly Father desires a true intimacy with us, an
offer to be part of His family…not just an invitation to merely be ‘friends’ -
so he sent his Son. “The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the
One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies
concerning him. He cries out saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes
after me has surpassed me because he was before me’” (John 1:14-15).
The Word became flesh and literally
‘tented’ among us. “I think what pitching a tent implies is that God wants to
be on familiar terms with us. He wants us to be close. He wants a lot of
interaction. If you come into a community and build a huge palace with a wall
around it, it says one thing about your desires to be with people. But if you
pitch a tent in my back yard you will probably use my bathroom and eat often at
my table. This is why God became human. He came to pitch a tent in our backyard
so we would have a lot of dealings with him.”[1]
No
sitting on high directing events from a distance for Jesus. He did not count on
posting pics from heaven with the
caption, “Wishing you were here J” to help us see the
inestimable worth of spending eternity in heaven with him. He came down from
heaven into the filth of a barn to be born, to have most people misunderstand him
throughout his life, to end up on a cross, in order to demonstrate God’s love
for us, his desire for intimacy with us – while we were still sinners. Because “Greater
love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John
15:13).
Jesus,
"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something
to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross"
(Philippians 2:6-8).
It was the Father's plan that Jesus would share complete
identification with mankind, without sinning, in order to help us to see the
full glory and grace of the Father. The
visible helping us to see and comprehend the invisible. “The Son is the
radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…” (Hebrews
1:3).
It is apparent from the beginning of man's
history that God never intended to simply give us a list of rules to live by
and then disappear from the picture. Genesis 3:8 tells us, "Then the man
and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in
the cool of the day..." What a beautiful picture of how it was meant to be
- and how someday again it will be for those who are his children.
Even after Adam
and Eve’s sins barred them and their descendants from the Garden of Eden, God
remained with his people. Before Israel entered the Promised Land, God showed he
was with them in a unique way. "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a
pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to
give them light, so that they could travel by day or night" (Exodus
13:21).
When the
Israelites camped in the desert, God's presence (his Shekinah glory) dwelt in the tabernacle, the
tent of meeting. “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34) He was
not an absentee landlord. He was present on his property.
God has
always desired that His people know He is with them. He has never been the God
that created the world and stepped back to let it run its course. He has always
sought to be intimately involved with His people. The Supreme example, Jesus,
came out of our heavenly Father's desire to draw us home in order that we might
feel his embrace. So he sent Jesus.
“From
the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the
One and Only who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:16-18).
The Word
became flesh and tented among us. Can you say the same in your
attempts to reach out to your ‘neighbors’? Are you living among or apart from
them? Do you cross the moat, pull up the drawbridge and bask in the comforts
while the world is desperate for a drink of Living Water? Are you willing to let
those who urgently need the Savior's touch to pitch a tent in your backyard? Or
will you be content to do drive-by blessings? How are you doing at humbling yourself and taking the role of a servant?
What does it mean for you to daily “take up your cross” and follow Jesus?
Consider asking the Lord each morning how he wants you to lay down your life so
others might live.
Go, in the flesh, so that the world may
know the Truth and the Truth may set them free.
Prayer
“Precious Jesus, how can we ever thank you enough for
coming into the world? Praise you, Lord,
for becoming flesh and living among your creation. Thank you for not
considering equality with God the Father something to be grasped, but making yourself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Forgive our evil bents, heavenly Father, that are not passionately pursuing your
Son moment-by-moment. Yet even in the midst of these wanderings, we have
assurance that we are your children. By your sweet mercy we received Jesus as our
Lord and Savior and believed in his name. You, and you alone, Father, have
given us the right to become your children. As John cried out to a lost and
hurting world in need of this message, grant us the boldness, compassion, and
wisdom to do likewise. What a truth to behold, from the fullness of Jesus’
grace we have all received one blessing after another – especially the offer of
adoption into his family. Praise you for revealing your nature, for making yourself
known, by sending your Son in the flesh. We praise you, Lord Jesus, that grace
and truth come through you. Grant us the eyes to see you every day, the ears to
hear you, and the heart to follow you as we seek to lay down our lives so
others might live. To you alone belong all glory, and honor, and praise.” Ω
Thanks for sharing. I needed this message and prayer
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