Key Bible Verse: But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman (Galatians 4:4). Bonus Reading: Isaiah 53:10-12

There are situations where human beings are at first filled with awe, and then as they grow more familiar with them they experience first indifference, and then contempt. The "spiderman" who works on scaffolding hundreds of feet above the ground has to be on guard against his over-familiarity. The man who works with high-voltage electricity must also beware of becoming contemptuous of his danger. And anyone who knows the sea will say to you in effect, "By all means love the sea, but never lose your respect for it."

We can hardly help being involved in the frantic business of buying and sending gifts and cards. But we should not try to escape a sense of awe, almost fright, at what God has done. The danger is that our familiarity with God's insertion of Himself into human history may produce a kind of indifference. The wonder and mystery may leave us unmoved. So much decoration and celebration has been heaped upon the festival that the historic fact upon which all the rejoicing is founded has been almost smothered out of existence. At least once a year we should look steadily at the historic fact: So great is God's love and concern for humanity that he himself became a man.

—J. B. Phillips in Good News

My Response: I'll make time to reflect on the miracle of God's visit to this planet.

Thought to Apply: If you want to get the hang of it [incarnation], think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.—C.S. LEWIS (British scholar & writer)

Adapted from Good News: Thoughts on God and Man (Macmillan, 1963) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, keep my familiarity with the trappings of Christmas from blinding me to its quiet but explosive significance.

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