The WORD Made Flesh

Is it just me, or does it seem that Christmas this year has come far too quickly?  Perhaps it is just a sign of aging, but it does seem that the years are passing more quickly than before, and especially the days leading up to the time of celebrating Christmas. I've heard many say that this year Christmas has seemed to be on a runaway train! 

Throughout the year, as we are blessed, encouraged and enriched by the friendship and fellowship of those in our lives, at Christmastime it is a good time to share that appreciation for others. 

In search of the perfect gift for the loved one you treasure so much, it seems each year the hustle and bustle increase with pressure to find that perfect gift for each one in our lives that we treasure.

This season of giving and getting continues unabated because there are so many in our lives that we love and appreciate, but may not take the time throughout the year to stop and tell them how much they mean to our lives. 

So Christmas becomes the time and season to do that.

While Christmas is a blessed time for many, there are others whose Christmas is full of unfulfilled expectations. Perhaps it is 

• the child who does not receive the toy he really wanted,
• the parents whose children did not make it home to spend Christmas with them,
• the family who has lost a loved one, and whose missing spot at Christmas hurts deeply. 

The season that strives to be the happiest season of the year, for many becomes a spot of deep pain and hurt that no amount of cheerful Christmas music, frivolity, chocolate or expensive gift can abate.  

There has been much loss this Christmas season in our local community, and even in my circle of friends.  A precious family has lost a home-schooling mother of 7 to to cancer at the young age of 60 with a child still at home.  In our community there are families who will grieve this Christmas.  There were two fathers taken too soon within the last few weeks in separate car accidents, and one family who lost a father and child in the same accident.  The emptiness of their presence at Christmas will be a difficult burden to bear. 

There is much suffering and sadness that seem to build around the Christmas season. 

We know that the true meaning of Christmas

came with a form of suffering

and centered around sacrificial giving, 

not about taking and getting, 

but about giving all. 

The birth of Jesus came in this way:

Who hath believed our report? 

and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, 

and as a root out of a dry ground: 

he hath no form nor comeliness; 

and when we shall see him, 

there is no beauty that we should desire him. 

Isaiah 53:1-2

There was nothing comely about our Lord, or His birth.

He came to show us the greatest meaning of love in its purest form 

as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.  

Love came, not wrapped in bright pretty packages 

with bows and tinsel, 

but a lowly manger was the wrapping paper on this gift of love.

As we seek today to embrace and remember that 

Gift of Love given to us 2000+ years ago, 

I think the answer to finding the true meaning of that great Gift of Love comes 

by extending that gift to others in our lives, 

not just with the perfect material gift 

but in a deeper way.

Jesus became the Word of God wrapped in flesh as John 1:1 says. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. “

Words are a very powerful tool used by God himself to show Himself to the world. 

As the Word was made flesh in the form of a babe, and laid in a manger, 

we realize that the ultimate gift of love came through the Word of God.  

By the Word of God this world was brought into existence.  

And it was by the Word of God that we get to behold Jesus in the flesh. 

The Word of God is a powerful force in our lives, and as we read the Word, 

we unlock the glory of the knowledge of who Jesus is, and what He has meant to our lives. 

Words remain a very powerful tool to convey to others the thoughts in our heart.

  

Words don’t always come easily to our mouths. Many times the words we want to say lay buried deep in our hearts, unable to be expressed.

But God showed us His word by speaking it, and putting it into action, and also by writing it. We have HIS WRITTEN WORD with us as a reminder that while we may not see Him, we may not touch Him, we can read His WORD that was written for us.

It would be fitting in this season of remembering 

when the Word was made flesh

to take this opportunity to share with someone 

just how much we love them and share the gift of His love

through the power of the written word. 

Perhaps as you read this, you will find a piece of paper to write on. 
Write a heartfelt message to someone in your life who needs to hear the words in your heart that have had a hard time finding their way out of your lips. 

Sometimes it is easier to express on paper 

than through a conversation just how much someone means to you.   

• Perhaps there has been a difficult relationship that you are struggling with, 
• or a friend who has gone above and beyond to bless you, 
• or maybe its someone who has spoken a kind word to you in a difficult season; 
• or perhaps it is a spouse, child or parent who you wish to share with them just how much they mean to you. 

Take this opportunity to put a few words on paper to let this person know just how much they mean to you.    Share with them a special memory, a scripture, or a reason that you love them so. This could be the greatest Christmas gift they receive, a gift written for them to pick up, read, and enjoy for many years to come.  It is the power of the written word! 

Write your thoughts on a pretty piece of paper, 

roll it up, and tie it with a pretty bow, 

and share this present from your heart

This is a gift that will keep on giving, year after year. 

The greatest gift that LOVE brought to us was the WORD of God made flesh.  We have His written word today to read over and over and over to remind us of how great that Love is. 

The power of the written word remains a gift that keeps on giving from year to year. 

May all of you have a blessed and very special Christmas season 

as we celebrate the greatest gift to mankind, 

the WORD made flesh and dwelling among us, 

in us, 

through us, 

with us, 

and written for us!