TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4
“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh,”
1 Timothy 3:16 ESV
HE SHOWED UP
When Gabriel Hurles turned six in 2009, he was so focused on eating his birthday cake, that he hardly noticed the giant package in the corner of the room. When another child pointed out the large gift, Gabriel ran over and began to tear off the wrapping. It wasn’t a bicycle or any of the other items a six-year-old would want. It was his dad, Army Specialist Casey Hurles, home on leave from the war in Iraq. Gabriel and his father had been apart for seven months, so when Casey learned his leave would coincide with his son’s birthday, he hatched a plan to offer one whale of a surprise. (Boys wrapped birthday gift is dad back from Iraq, Associated Press)
In essence, that’s what God did for us that first Christmas. He offered us one whale of a surprise. He wrapped Himself up in the form of a tiny baby and gave us Himself. The word “manifested” can mean to reveal or to make known. God revealed Himself in the flesh when Jesus came to earth. Because Jesus left heaven and came into this world, He knew pain, suffering, rejection, hunger, thirst, loneliness, and many other of the problems that are part of the human condition. He suffered all that He did so that He might feel our pain and know how to comfort us when our trials come, Heb. 4:14-16; Heb. 2:18; 1 Pet. 5:7. But this also made Jesus a suitable sacrifice for our sins. Because Jesus was all man and all God He could die in our place.
There is something about just showing up in people’s lives at important times. You don’t necessarily have to do something spectacular, you just need to show up. Jesus showed up for us when we most needed Him. Can you think of some special times when God’s presence has made a big difference in your life? Can you think of others that God has used to show up when you just needed someone to be present in the flesh? Thank God for those times and for those people.
