During Advent and the Christmas season, Christians ponder the mystery of the Incarnation. John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
Luke tells us that our Lord was conceived by a young virgin who was engaged to a Jewish carpenter, and born to this humble couple while on the road, in a small town. Because they had no room, he was born in an animal shelter, and laid in a manger, the creator of the universe. This was God’s amazing plan. He came to make God known to us, to save us from ourselves, to give us an abundant life.
While blessed to live in this time and place, blessed to have been raised and nurtured in a loving Christian home, blessed by a loving and faithful wife and family, blessed by brothers and sisters of the faith, our lives are a journey and a struggle. In our text from Ephesians 6:10-17, we learn that this struggle is one that cannot be won in our own strength. It may be helpful in these times of polarization and incivility in our culture to remember that “our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood.” Jesus challenges us to give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s, and to seek first His kingdom.
Our text tells us that our struggle is spiritual and requires that we rely on God’s strength, His truth, His word. We need to remember that this is our Father’s world. It’s all his. We are his.
Prayer:
God help me. Help us all. Save me from my self-centeredness and pride. Help me to set my mind on the things of the Spirit, to seek your will and your way. Amen.
