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Key Bible Verse: This is the great mystery of our faith: Christ appeared in the flesh.… He was believed on in the world and was taken up into heaven (1 Timothy 3:16). Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:13

The scandalous nature of the Incarnation captivates non-Christians too. In the 1990s, Joan Osborne, a little-known, brassy, irreverent feminist, sang what became a mainstream hit. "One of Us," written by Eric Bazilian, a former member of a one-hit Philadelphia band, has God coming to our postmodern world as a "slob," a stranger on a bus.

By their own admission, neither Bazilian nor Osborne knew what they were doing in the creation of this song. "I never thought about any of it," Bazilian said about the lyrics in a Washington Post story. "I just take credit for being the scribe. Whoever dictated this piece knew where it was going." "We have this theory," Osborne added, "that this song is a living creature with a mind of its own that used Eric to be born and used me to spread its message throughout the world."

"One of Us" was largely rejected by the Christian subculture for an ambivalence and irony that seemed to belittle God's greatness and goodness. Yet its central message is hard to ignore: If Jesus was the Son of God and "one of us," if we could actually see God's face in human form—we'd then have to believe the whole story.

—John Fischer in Finding God Where You Least Expect Him

My Response: How has seeing Gods face in the Gospels made Him real to me?

Thought to Apply: My only rule: If you understand something, its no mystery.—SCOTT CAIRNS (poet)

Adapted from Finding God Where You Least Expect Him (Harvest, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord Jesus, help me to fully embrace Your humanity as I do Your deity.

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