December 21
Jesus Veiled His True Glory to Serve as Our Savior
[Christ Jesus], who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7
Six-year-old Lilly could not stop talking about Christmas. As her grandparents talked to her via Zoom, Lilly burst out, “I can’t wait for tomorrow. Grandma, you and Grandpa will be here. And we’re going to sing in church and have a birthday cake for Jesus.”
“And what do you think you’ll get for Christmas?” Grandma asked.
Lilly responded, “I don’t know, but I can’t wait for you to see what I gave you.”
“I can’t wait for you to see what I gave you.” Our Savior Jesus says the same thing to you this Christmas.
What did he give you? Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God . . . made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
We cannot even imagine the glory of heaven. Yet Jesus was the center of heaven’s glory, the eternal Son of God. In eternity, the Father approached the Son with a plan. “Son, the only way to save sinners is for you to leave this glory and become a human being. You have to shrink yourself into a woman’s womb and be born as a helpless child. As you grow up, you must keep your divine nature so that you can be the perfect substitute for sinners under the law. Yet you cannot make full use of your divine nature. And you must do the impossible: die for their sins.”
Such grace. Human parents helped their Omnipotent Son. Religious leaders taught the Omniscient One. He didn’t say, “Well, they made this mess—they’ll have to clean it up.” He willingly traded in his crown for a cross.
This Christmas celebrate Jesus’ gracious gift to you. You could not know him without it. You could not conceive of such a gift—not just because sin corrupts our thinking, but because God’s grace in Christ is beyond human comprehension. But he is yours. And so are his gifts: forgiveness, new life, and eternal salvation. Today Jesus resides in the heavenly glory he left behind. And so will you.
Lord Jesus, help us to fill this Christmas with thanks and praise to you for giving yourself to be our Savior. Amen.
Rev. Dr. John Boeder serves Martin Luther College as campus pastor and a professor of theology.
