2010 – October 18 – God Wrapped in Flesh!

Study from God’s Word… Matthew 1: 1; John 1: 1-18; Luke 1: 1 – 4 … Passage for Reflection: John 1: 14 … NIV The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

My Journal for Today: And now, in his devotional attempt to bring a chronological representation of the gospels and the New Testament, which Dr. Smith posits must involve some degree of scholarly and rigorous interpretation, my year through The Daily Bible in Chronological Order in the New Testament begins; and in John 1, as well as Matt. 1 and Luke 1, God’s readers into His word are introduced to the “God-man,” which is a concept I agree with Dr. Smith may be almost impossible for the human mind to fully comprehend. But being seekers after truth and an understanding of our Lord, we must try to grasp Whom this man Jesus was as the human incarnation of God Himself.

I like Dr. Smith’s creation of the concept of a “squirkle” to illustrate the difficulty to grasp the concept of “God-man.” When we say “square-circle,” we’d say that such a concept is an oxymoron. So, we might create a label to describe something which, by human logic, seem inexplicable. So, Dr. Smith takes “square-circle” and turns it into a “squirkle.” And, Dr. Smith is exactly right when he declares that calling Jesus the “Incarnate God,” may be the ultimate oxymoron. How does one reconcile the truth that Jesus, or as He was divinely dubbed, “Emmanuel,” was 100% man, born of Mary; but He was also 100% God, sired by God’s Spirit to become a man in the flesh. And with my limited mind, I find understanding this, with perfect clarity, to be infinitely more difficult than visualizing a “squirkle.”

But believing that Jesus was whom (or what) the Apostle John wrote about in today’s highlight verse may not be something in can fully wrap my mind around. But having the gospel writers give an account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, allows me to become somewhat of a “squirkle” myself. You see, John wrote about THE Son of God, Whom, as the Word, became flesh, i.e., the God-man. And because Jesus did what the later Apostle Paul wrote about in Phil. 2: 6-11 [go study it!], I can do what Paul later described in Romans 10: 9-13 [linked for you] acknowledging that I will never be like Jesus, co-eternal with The Father, but by believing that Jesus is THE Son of God, I can become A son of God by believing in Him as THE God-man Who came to be the Incarnate God so that, again, I can become A son of God. And knowing, in my heart, that Jesus can, because of His death on the cross and my belief in His resurrection, raise me to be eternally with my Savior, … the God-man.

Wow! It may be somewhat of a “squirkle” concept to my mind; but it is truth to my heart. And it may be somewhat of a mystery to my limited understanding, but knowing and believing in the truth of the gospel accounts and being able to grasp their truth, in my heart-of-hearts, I KNOW that I will be one day raised from the dead (or taken before death) to be with my Savior. This was God’s promise from His gospel; and it was witnessed to mankind in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of God’s very Son, Jesus, … The Christ.

Join with me; … say it! Respond to this journal entry with a resounding … HALLELUJAH!

Or if you can’t believe in Jesus as “The God-man,” as I do, please contact me (email: billb13@bellsouth.net ); and let’s explore this “squirklism” for yourself and for your eternal future.

My Prayer for Today: Hallelujah, Lord; … HALLELUJAH!!! Amen