Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.At this time of the year, believers all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth is one of the greatest miracles that has ever occurred, for it was a moment when God Almighty laid aside His glory and appeared on earth as a man.
(Phil. 2: 6-7)
How wonderful, how marvelous to think that God would temporarily shed His divine appearance and actually take on the flesh of man! Yet this is precisely what happened the day Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
God existed in glory more wonderful than the human mind can comprehend and more powerful than human flesh could endure. Yet He desired to come to earth to purchase redemption for man.
Therefore, God had no choice but to reclothe Himself in a manner that could be tolerated by man. This is why He "...made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men."
This is the true story of Christmas!
At this time of the year, we are prone to think of Jesus as a little baby in a manger in a Bethlehem stable. Certainly this is true, but we should never forget that Bethlehem was not Jesus' beginning. It was merely a brief appearance in His eternal existence.
Out of His deep love for you and me, Jesus was willing to leave His majestic realms of glory to enter the realm of humanity. Shedding all His visible attributes that were too much for man's flesh to endure, He dressed Himself in the clothing of a human being and was manifested in the flesh.
That little baby in Bethlehem was the eternal, ever-existent God Almighty, who dressed Himself in human flesh so that He could dwell among men and purchase our salvation.
God's great love for us drove Him to come down to our level so He could understand us better and later become an effective High Priest on our behalf. Think how wonderful it is that God loves us to such an extent!
When Paul started this text of God becoming a man, he started by saying, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). You see, God wants us to have the same mind or attitude that was demonstrated in Jesus Christ.
Just as Jesus was willing to go this incredible distance to reach us, love us, and to redeem us, we should desire to do the same for others!
This, then, is one of the primary messages of Christmas: We should be willing to divest ourselves to reach out and help people. This is what Jesus did for us, so shouldn't we do the same for others?
Excerpt permission granted by Rick Renner Ministries
Rick and Denise met while they were each on an individual quest to wholeheartedly follow God's plan for their lives. Rick was a college student, growing in his teaching ministry. Denise was a talented vocalist. She chose not to pursue a course that held the prospect of performing with the Metropolitan Opera so that she could instead pursue a relationship with Rick and fulfill her heart's desire to enter full-time ministry.
