It’s quite possible that non-Christians hear more Christian theology around Christmas-time than any other time of the year. A number of Christmas songs are filled with rich theological truths.
Take the popular “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” It’s chock-full of robust truths from God’s Word.
But I wonder how many non-Christians really understand what they’re singing. Or even how many Christians understand these lyrics!
Take, for example, the line “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.” That simply means “Look and see God, hidden in human flesh,” see God in the Person of Jesus.
Then comes “Hail the incarnate Deity.” Deity, of course, means divine One, God Himself. Incarnate means “enfleshed.”
Look at the next two lines: “Pleased as man with men in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.” There’s that word again—“Emmanuel,” God with us. Jesus is our “God with us.” We know who God is because of Jesus. We know what God is like because of Jesus.
This verse is supposed to set up the miracle of the incarnation by letting you see Christ in all His glory coming as baby Jesus in that humble stable.
Look at the pure, sinless Jesus being born to a mother under questionable circumstances.
Look at the Maker of the universe being denied space in the inn, having to occupy the space of a stable.
Look at Christ being adored by all of heaven, and then see Him in a stinky feeding trough flanked by animals.
Part of the glory of the incarnation is holding that tension in your mind. It gives you a window into how great God’s love is, that He would take on human flesh for us and our salvation.
Pause and Reflect
What do the humble circumstances of Christ’s birth tell us about the nature and character of God?
How should our exercise of power and authority change in light of the humility of Christ?
– from one of the devotionals I contributed to The Gospel Project Christmas
