Stepping into our Lives

A door to a Reformed Church in Zurich, Switzerland.  It reminds me that Jesus is the
door to our salvation.

     Around the holidays, I start to reflect on the days gone by when my parents were living.  As I looked at a picture of my father, I found myself wishing that he could just step out of that picture and be here
to celebrate Christmas with us.  He left us much too early, and he never got to meet our oldest son to whom we gave his middle name.  Aaron was God's gift to us after my father died in 1980.  The Lord had already blessed us with a little girl.  Thankfully, she was able to meet my father.  Our two younger sons never got to meet my dad either, but I have assured them all that they will see him again in heaven one day.
     While I was reading John 1: 1-14 today, a thought came to me.  I realized that what God did for us was to step out of the pages of the Word and come to this world as a man to walk and talk with us that we might know Him intimately.  Jesus became flesh and blood so that He could fully identify with us and provide for us a way of salvation.  In addition, He modeled the perfect life that we might follow after Him in seeking righteousness and holiness.  What great love the Father had for us that He would lay aside His glory and the perfection of heaven to come to earth and to show us His light and bring to us deliverance.

     Reading verse 14, it says:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  These words offer us comfort and encouragement.  When we are seeking grace, we will find it in Christ.  When we are seeking truth, again, we find it in Christ.  Furthermore, God made it possible for us to have a deep relationship with Him through the sacrifice of His Son upon the cross.  This is a gift we MUST unwrap!
     A question we need to ponder is this:  If Christ stepped into our lives right now at this moment and was physically present with us, would it make a difference in the way we walk and talk?  Does our belief in Him influence our thoughts, decisions and motives or is He just a heavenly being far removed from our every day activities?  These are thoughts we need to consider.
     My father cannot step out of the picture I have of him sitting on my desk here at home.  I will, however, see him again one day in heaven.  But Jesus is the lover of our souls, and we can experience Him every day!  At Christmas then, lets reflect on how He stepped into history for us and let us take Him out of the picture frame or off our shelf and make Him known both by sharing our faith and living it each day.  By this, we will glorify God and be known as His disciples!  Selah!

A royal crown on display at "The Residence" in Munich, Germany.
It reminds me that Jesus is our King of all Kings!

Please leave your thoughts here.  I welcome your insights and comments.