Let’s take a few moments to ponder the indescribable reality of the incarnation – Jesus, the Son of God, becoming man.
A few weeks ago my pastor used a quote from Karl Barth to capture the magnanimous heart of God in giving us Jesus. Barth describes it as the “climbing down of God.” Jesus came the whole way down to the earth and made it possible for us to go the whole way up to heaven.
Verses like 2 Corinthians 8:9 explain the great exchange that Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection made possible for us:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The sermon reminded me of a poem I wrote a number of years ago to describe the wonder of God reaching all the way from heaven to lift us into a relationship with Himself.
Could a Mountain Kiss a Flower
Could a mountain kiss a flower
At the base of its vast mound
Could its grandeur and its splendor
Stoop to something on the ground
Does it notice some small object
Like the fragile plant below
While such vistas stretch before it
And such visions beckon so
Let me tell you of a Mountain
Of a One so fair and high
Oh its glories, oh its beauty
As it reaches past the sky
Let me tell you of His passion
Of His love for one like me
One small flower, one small blossom
One who needed deity
How He bended, how He leaned down
How He reached so low for me
How He forgave, how He nurtured
How He held me tenderly
And the flower, now so fragrant
So alive with sheer delight
Waves in wonder, waves in honor
Of her Friend so high, so bright
And she reaches and she stretches
Just to catch a glimpse of Him
And He hovers and He lowers
Just to hold her close within
Did He kneel down, did she rise up
How are they so one in heart
Could a mountain kiss a flower
These two ne’er will be apart
-Lisa Hosler
“Father, as we embark on a new year, keep us steeped in these profound truths. May we never lose the wonder of the incarnation that enables us to know You intimately.”