December 25, 2025

Christmas and The Cross 

To incarnate, from which we get the word, incarnation, means: “to embody in flesh; invest with a bodily form.” From a Latin word meaning “to make into flesh.”

Have you ever wondered what was going through Christ’s mind before Holy Spirit transformed Him into a microscopic seed and carried Him to the womb of a young girl? The Son of God was about to become human. Did He wonder how it would feel to no longer be omnipresent? Omniscient? Omnipotent? Did He wonder how physical pain would feel? Hunger? Thirst? Weariness? Cold? Heartache? Loss? 

Christ knew He would have to swim in amniotic fluids, fight His way through a birth canal, be fed, be bathed, learn to crawl, develop balance and walking skills, form words, grow, and gain knowledge. For the first time, He would experience sleep, hunger, pain, scrapes, blisters, and callouses. He would enter the realm of time. He would bleed; He was breakable.

One has to wonder if Jesus ever reconsidered the plan. Since He was “the Lamb slain” before we were even created (Revelation 13:8), I don’t suppose He did. Yet, just before Holy Spirit held Him and began the transformation, there must have been at least an emotional, “Here we go…I’m about to be human!” And then He was - there was no turning back.

Numerous questions come to mind as I consider Christ’s humanness:

• As a child, when did the first awareness of who He was begin to set in?

• When did He first look up at a star-filled sky and think, I made that.

• When did He first recall saying, “Let there be…”

• When did the calculus of our solar system begin creeping back into His memory?

• Did He ever have a nightmare?

• When did He stop asking Mary questions and start explaining things to her?

• Did His siblings wonder at His gifts, intellect?

• Who was His best friend growing up?

• What did His laugh sound like?

• What was His favorite color…food? Was there any food - which He, of course, created - that He didn’t like?!

• At what age did His carpentry skills begin superseding those of Joseph? Did they ever joke about it?

• How old was He when Joseph died? Did He know it was coming? How did He deal with the pain?

• How did He react the first time He saw a serpent…or first observed pride, cruelty, violence, or greed?

• When He heard lightning, did He smile? (Luke 10:18)

• And when did the love that motivated His humanness - the passion for His eternal bride - begin welling up in His chest?

• As He fashioned wood in His carpenter shop, did He ever pause and gaze pensively toward a hill in Jerusalem?

• Did He ever wince when He drove nails?

We will never truly understand the ramifications, intricacies, and complexities of the incarnation. Merging the limitations of “humanness” with an infinite God simply can’t be computed by human brains. Indeed, Paul referenced Christ as God’s “indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). But it is healthy to ponder it, nonetheless. We must, in fact. It is imperative that we consider the cost to Christ. It’s essential that we wonder at such love, marvel at the plan, and stand in awe at its audacity.

So today, take some time to reflect on it. Sing, or listen to Silent Night, Away In A Manger, O Holy Night, or your favorite Christmas carol, and consider the words. Recapture the wonder. Read the story again in Luke’s gospel. Close your eyes and try to envision Mary’s angelic visitation. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes - how hard would it be to believe Mary’s story? No wonder He, too, needed a heavenly visitation. Envision the stars, the stable, the manger, the Christ-child. Then, converse with Abba and Jesus. Thank them…for Christmas, yes, but also for the Cross, the end of His earthly journey and the beginning of our salvation.

Merry Christmas!

[Today is our last Give Him 15 post until Monday, January 5. We provide our staff a break to spend time with their families from Christmas through the New Year. Blessings!]

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