That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ~ 1 John 1:1-2
John is writing to the early church. It is interesting to note that scholars who study these things say that John’s epistles were written before John’s gospel. As you read these first two verses of this chapter you can almost hear John formulating the opening of his gospel. In both writings John is capturing the wonder of the incarnation. “The word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.”
There are three things that stand out to me about the incarnation. (I know that I read this somewhere but cannot remember the source.) The first is that Jesus, the Word, was an agent in creation. He was with the Father in speaking the cosmos into existence. And yet he voluntarily restricts the routine exercise of those divine privileges to become a baby born in Bethlehem. But it should be noted that he remained totally God and totally human the entire time. Yet as a baby he was dependent on Mary and Joseph for just about everything especially in the early years. The second thing that I find noteworthy in the incarnation is that Jesus did not cling to his titles of divinity. So often we will meet people, and they will make sure that you know how important they are. You see it at work, in industry, academics, medicine, politics, the military, etc. Jesus humbled himself and lived a life of humility. Number three on this list is that Jesus came to serve. Listen to Matthew 20:28, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus could have very easily leveraged his position and his authority to be served. But he choose to serve instead.
To me these three lessons of the incarnation are incredibly powerful examples for us today. Trust others. Don’t cling to titles or achievements and serve. Walk in humility and live in love. In Jesus name amen.