advent day 1: Maker of All That Is

How did Christmas day feel to God? Imagine for a moment becoming a baby again. God as a fetus! Or imagine yourself becoming a sea slug — that is probably closer. On that day in Bethlehem, the Maker of All That Is took form as a helpless, dependent newborn.

Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

advent day 18: an infant

In the cold, in the dark, among the wrinkled hills of Bethlehem, God who knows no before or after entered time and space. One who knows no boundaries at all took them on: the shocking confines of a baby’s skin, the ominous restrains of mortality. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,” an apostle would later say; “he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” But the few eyewitnesses on Christmas night saw none of that. They saw an infant struggling to work never-before-used lungs.

Philip Yancey, Finding God in Unexpected Places

***

For 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

advent day 23: any length

The story of Jesus is the story of a celebration, a story of love. It involves pain and disappointment, yes, for God as well as for us. But Jesus embodies the promise of a God who will go to any length to get his family back.

Philip Yancey, “Unwrapping Jesus,” Christianity Today, June 17, 1996

***

He gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and become a servant.

Philippians 2:7 NIV