Incarnation--Made himself nothing

Christ Jesus… being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7 NIV

I’ve always thought of this song as a Christmas reading! It speaks of the pre-existence of Jesus as God, and the miracle of the Creator taking the form of His created. It speaks of His life and death, His glorification, and His justification before the world that He is Lord of all.

He “made himself nothing.” The Creator of the universe, an infinite being, took the form of a microscopic zygote, embryo, and fetus. He developed a spine and tail, large eyes, and gecko-like fingers. His arms and legs lengthened, His heart began beating, his brain made patterns, and He sucked His thumb. He could hear His mother’s heartbeat. As He grew larger, He crossed His ankles and drew up His knees. He developed in every way as we did. When He was born, He cried and needed milk and diaper changes.

As Jesus grew he played with the neighbor kids and scraped his knuckles and shins. He rolled down hills and climbed trees, and helped with the harvests and flocks as a day laborer. As He learned to read, He apprenticed to the building trade. As he matured, His voice deepened. Fathers thought He’d make a great husband for their daughters. The town knew Him as the kindest, most helpful kid ever.

“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.” 1 John 4:2-3 NKJV

Fully human, fully divine, even as a “nothing.” But being made in the image of God, this One reflected the love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness of the Abba Father, as well the human body and blended DNA of his ancestors going back to Adam and Eve.

Jesus’ authority, power, and glory were always there, but He lived His life as one of us, taking no power of His own, but showing us that even as lowly slaves, we can do anything in God’s power.

Unto Us is Given

To us a child is born, to us a son is given. Isaiah 9:6 NIV

I wanted to be a married mother of children. I planned early to be a piano teacher, so that I could be a work-at-home mom. I saved my journals, photos, and favorite toys as a heritage for my children. I worked with my mother on our family genealogy.

The hundreds of children I taught for fifteen years, both one-on-one, and in classes, are my kids, minus the sleepless nights and diaper duty. It’s true that I’m very proud of the lasting effect I’ve had on their lives and of their progress as adults and musicians. I still get invited to their weddings and grand occasions. They send Christmas letters and pictures of their babies. Through a Christian agency, I sponsor young girls in Indonesia and Uganda. But face it, at the end of the day, students and sponsored children are not my children.

But just as Jesus came to be my Savior and my Brother, and introduce me to our Father, He is Emmanuel, God-With-Us. He gives me membership by birth and by adoption into the family of God. His incarnation means that He is also my Son, my Child, and my heritage. I can share in the promise He gave us in Scripture, that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NIV

At my church, the pastors are inclusive of childless women, and call us “Mothers in Israel.” They recognize the influence and ministry we have in counseling, teaching, and befriending children who think their own parents are members of any species but human!

As Christian friends point out, in the New Earth, I may be a mother at last. The Lord comforts me with the promises that I will have sons and daughters (Isaiah 49:21-22), and that I have a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

And you'll say to yourself,

'Where on earth did these children come from?

I lost everything, had nothing, was exiled and penniless.

So who reared these children?

How did these children get here?'"



The Master, God, says: "Look! I signal to the nations,

I raise my flag to summon the people.

Here they'll come: women carrying your little boys in their arms,

men carrying your little girls on their shoulders.

And every time I sing, in Handel’s "Messiah," the chorus “For Unto Us a Child is Born,” I get teary, but with joy. I do have a Son, and He can’t wait to come back to fetch me.

The Father’s Maternal Love

As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:13 NIV

There are highly educated, deeply spiritual people of both genders who refer to God as “She” and “Mother,” and although I find it somewhat distracting, it doesn’t make them wrong and me right. God is infinitely more than we can imagine. More intelligent, more broad-minded, more loving, compassionate, forgiving, and accepting. Just more. His ways are higher than my ways. With that in mind, and Genesis 1:27, that God created both male and female in His image, I submit that God is not confined to gender as we perceive it. God is spirit. His appearance is defined by His character (Exodus 34:6, 7; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 4:8).

Not every human mother deserves the honors we are commanded to pay them (Exodus 20:12). Nor is every woman who yearns to be a mother, able to bear children or raise a family. Parent/child relationships are only an ideal, pointing to the real: Creator/creature. (He could have created and populated the world without parents of any species—no eggs, just adult chickens!) God is powerful, protective, far-seeing, and wants the best present and future for us.

Listen to God’s parental words: ‘Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never.’ Isaiah 49:15 MSG

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, …how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matthew 23:37 NIV

I will extend peace… you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:12-13 NIV

The grace-full tenderness that we have received so generously from God, the maternal Father, we must share by praying for those around us, and by reflecting (in God’s image!) our Parent’s compassion to troubled friends or co-workers. Then, to complete the circle, we return that love to God with heartfelt gratitude and joy.