“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.” John 1.1-4
Today as I dive into God’s word, I am doing so on a subject that I’ve never really considered. It’s an idea that I’m sure others have examined but truthfully, I have not. And it’s the idea of this — did Jesus have to separate himself from a relationship with God his Father when he left heaven (as a fully functioning and mature being) to become a baby (with an infants intellect and lack of maturity)?
We learn from John what we’ve known, that Jesus, who is the Word, was with God in the beginning of time. The Word was with God. The Word was a person, the Word was Jesus. Everything was made through him. So, Jesus was with God in all of time, the creation happened through him and now he’s becoming a human being. As a human, we begins as babies and we know nothing. We are cute but stupid. Since Jesus was born as a baby, how long did it take him to relearn everything? And when he became a baby, it’s as if his mind was swept clean and he started with a clean slate, as a limited human, who had to relearn who he was and his relationship with the Father.
I hope I’ve explained what I am wrestling with, I feel like it was a part of the sacrifice Jesus made as he became fully human while fully God. And this sacrifice was giving up (at least cognitively) a relationship with God until he was old enough for his brain to catch up with his soul. Did this happen when he was twelve and spend time in the temple courts? When the teachers of the law were amazed at his learning? When exactly did Jesus begin to reconnect with the Father and realize once again who he was? These are questions I’ll ask the Lord one day!
The topic of today’s study is Jesus preparing for Christmas. We often think of every other character in the bible and how they prepared for the coming of the Christ child, but how did Jesus prepare for his entrance into earth? When did his spirit leave heaven and enter the womb of Mary? And what a risk! Imagine if Herod had killed the baby Jesus? Would he be killing a God who could not defend himself?
But I digress! How did Jesus prepare for his entrance into the world of humanity? He knew all about humans, I mean, he created them. But he had never been one. Becoming a human meant he would be separated from God as we are today. And although we can be near God in a sense, we are still limited by his body and by this world. Our relationship with God is only in part now, but once we leave this earth, we will know him fully. Just as 1 Corinthians 13.12 suggests, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
My point is this — even Jesus prepared for Christmas. He prepared for his entrance into this world just as we prepare for his arrival. He who was with God since the beginning of time became a man so we might know a God who walks among us. (For specific reasons why Jesus came to earth read – https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_806.cfm).
Let’s continue to prepare for Jesus this Christmas as we devote our hearts and souls to knowing, loving and serving the Father — because Jesus did the same.
“O Lord God, it was a sacrifice on so many levels for you to come in the flesh. For the incarnation to happen you had to leave your throne in heaven and become one of us. This meant putting on pause your relationship with the Father. How hard this must have been! Thank you Lord for coming to earth, becoming a man, and living among us. You teach us how to know the Father and how to love you more. I praise you Lord for loving us and for dying and rising again so we might have life. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen