Meditate on This Every Day…
It is our habit, and rightly so, to regard the deity of the Redeemer and His eternal relationship as Son of God as the central point in our spiritual thinking.
Of a truth, Jesus of Nazareth, who made His pilgrim way through this world and then was crucified for our sakes on the cross, was “God manifested in flesh” (I Tim. 3:16), “God blessed for ever” (Rom. 9:5). But we should never forget that He was God revealed “in flesh,” that is, truly as a man in life and nature. Or as one of the early church fathers expressed himself: “He remained what He was. He became what we are.” “He was at once in His own world and nature as equally in our own world and nature.” To try to clear up this mystery would be foolishness. The mystery of His incarnation is forever unfathomable. Christ did not only work miracles, He was himself a miracle, He is the miracle of all miracles, the original archetypical miracle. We must recognize the truth of His humanity and the truth of His deity. In Christ we have a man on this earth who perfectly carried out the will of God. In Him it became clear what God meant when He said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Christ’s life on earth is the perfect explanation of the meaning of the creation of man.
“Meditation on the humanity of the Incarnate One is not a speculative problem of Christian theological philosophy, but a subject for serious contemplative thought for the believing heart, so that it may be encouraged to go on in the way of practical sanctification.”
How encouraging and refreshing it is to know that this perfect Man has given us the proof that it is possible to live in faith here on earth, in our present circumstances, in such a way as perfectly to glorify God. When we look at His heavenly priesthood from this point of view, how effective and vital it becomes. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
For this reason meditation on the humanity of the Incarnate One is not a speculative problem of Christian theological philosophy, but a subject for serious contemplative thought for the believing heart, so that it may be encouraged to go on in the way of practical sanctification. Our Lord’s example is given to form and educate us. The picture of Jesus given us in the Gospels should not be used exclusively for evangelistic purposes, that is, chiefly for those who are “without” in order to win their souls; it should be used just as much for ourselves to teach us practical faith in life and sanctification. This applies both for the regular devotional Scripture readings of the individual and for public ministry in the church.
– Erich Sauer, In the Arena of Faith
