Cindy Powell

“…and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” -John 1:14

When we think of the Christmas story, we turn to the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Both contain amazing historical accounts of Jesus making His appearance on earth. They detail WHAT God did and, to the extent our minds can comprehend, HOW He did it.

But the Christmas story began long before that—literally it began before time. It didn’t start with what and how, it started with WHO and WHY. That Christmas story is found in the gospel of John:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.”

That’s WHO. That’s WHY. The eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To show us WHO … to reveal Himself … to illuminate the darkness … to make a way for US to live in the light … to make a way for us to behold His glory … to make a way for us to be transformed into His own image.

The incarnation is the most mind blowing, outlandish, and wondrous event of the ages. Without the incarnation not only would there be no Christmas, there would be no example, no cross, no redemption, no resurrection.

Without the incarnation we would be lost in darkness forever.

But the Word DID become flesh—and because He did, we can live in His marvelous Light.

We can behold His glory.

The miracle is there. The wonder is there. The glory is there for us to behold. Sometimes we just need to slow down long enough to remember to be amazed. Long enough to …

Breathe

Be

Be held

Behold

Behold His glory.

Behold the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.