Type:
On this day as you revel in the cheer of the season, open gifts, celebrate with family, and perhaps take off to the movie theater to catch the latest show, consider that our triune God loved you before the foundation of the world. When God the Father swore an oath to his Son to appoint him as our covenant surety and that he would be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, the Son willingly consented to go into the far country, live, suffer, and die so that you could have eternal life. Even though he was equal with God, he did not, like Adam, consider this equality with God a thing to be grasped. Instead, he took on the form of a servant, he took on the likeness of sinful flesh, and was perfectly obedient to the law of God, even unto the point of death, death on the cross. He was willing to enter our frail condition—the tiny hands that grasped Mary’s fingers would one day open wide and have nails driven through them so we would not have to suffer God’s wrath. Rejoice that the Spirit also willingly consented to be sent by the Father and the Son, and that he hovered over Mary. As God took the dust of the earth and formed man and breathed life into his nostrils, so too the Spirit of God hovered over Mary and took this dust-bound creature and by his miraculous power conceived the Messiah in her womb. The Father poured out the Spirit upon the Son to equip him to carry out his ministry and empowered Jesus to offer himself up on the cross. In the midst of this busy holiday season, take time to consider these things. In the words of Geerhardus Vos, “The whole incarnation, with all that pertains to is, is one great sacrament of redemption.” Give thought to this glorious truth and give thanks to our faithful triune God.
