We all understand how shadows work. If there is a light source, you cast a
shadow. But what if you ARE the light
source? Of course, I’m not speaking about you
specifically being a light, but about Jesus.
And not really the Jesus in a manger, because He certainly cast a shadow
as a human being. But what about before
that? Before He left heaven to come to
earth? The Jesus spoken of by the apostle
John:
Life
was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet
the darkness did not overcome it…The true light, who gives light
to everyone, was coming into the world.
John 1:4-5, 9
Jesus, before He came to earth as a man, was the light of
life for all of creation. He was filled
with all the glory of God Himself, according to Hebrews 1:3:
The
Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of
His nature…
A few of the disciples got a glimpse of the brightness of His
glory just once in Jesus’ life with them:
After
six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on
a high mountain by themselves. He was transformed in front of
them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as
the light.
Why wasn’t Jesus glowing ALL the time? Because He willingly left His glory along
with His other God-like attributes when He stepped out of heaven to offer
Himself for you and me. The book of
Philippians records this reverse-metamorphosis:
Make
your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming
the form of a slave (servant), taking on the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7
Read that last underlined portion again. He “emptied Himself”. Of what?
He never stopped being God, but He had to peel off the glory and majesty
that were His already so He could be just like us – a human being. A poor parallel would be that of a beautiful
butterfly choosing to lay aside its gossamer wings so it could crawl around
with the other insects. This One who
left heaven was, and is, “…the Root and
Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)
Which brings me to the hillside just north of the village of
Bethlehem where an angel appeared to the shepherds on the night Mary gave
birth:
Then
an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the
Lord shone around them… Luke 2:9
The Glory of the Lord lit up the night around them. The same brightness that filled the
tabernacle when God was present. The same
brilliance that radiated from Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and again
in the throne room of heaven when John shared “His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength”.[i] Though I can’t be certain, isn’t it possible
that the glory that couldn’t be contained in the infant Son in the manger just
had to point the shepherds and magi to His side? May the Glory of God point you to the King of
Righteousness this Christmas.
Jacob
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