Pastor Mark's December Letter

Dear Church Family,

We seldom ponder the significance and transcendence of the incarnation. The incarnation is the theological term to describe God in human flesh. It says in the Gospel of John chapter 1 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word is Jesus Christ. The Word is God.

The incarnation is the teaching of the Scriptures that Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, came in human flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ. This is stunning, mind-boggling, and truly the essence of what should motivate the followers of  Jesus Christ to become "flesh" for others. Have you ever thought about this in terms of the principle and philosophy that governs your interactions with other people?

God stooped so low as to become a man and then much lower to take the form of a slave who washes the feet of His friends. But then Philippians chapter 2 says that Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. This is what Almighty God did in becoming a man: He humbled Himself to the point of death. Ideally and essentially this is what true Christians spend their lives trying to achieve and live for - the same, Christ-like humility for the sake of the glory of God.  They humble themselves for the sake of serving others and sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, and all of these things with the goal of worshipping God and illustrating Jesus Christ and the glory of God in this world.

Christians follow in the footsteps of Jesus by laying down their lives and self-interests for the sake of serving others. When they fail to do this, they repent and confess their sins, and ask God for further sanctification so that they will represent what it means that He lay down His life for us.

This is what Christmas is truly and really all about, the incarnation. God becoming a man and surrendering Himself to curses and abuse, and all of these for the sake of being obedient to God's will and to demonstrate His love for us.

How can each one of us focus on following in His footsteps in the Christmas season and beyond? For some of you it means being humble and broken and willing to confess your sins ... admitting that you've been selfish instead of self-sacrificing. If done truly from your heart and by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, this is an expression of humility that is honoring to God. And it is an expression of humility that is essential if one lives the life of humble willingness to serve others.

Or maybe it means that you finally start to serve the people in your immediate sphere of influence, and I'm referring to the people in your very own family. Some of you men who call yourselves Christians need to listen to your spouse's earnest cry that the two of you go to marriage counseling. Over the years I've heard church-going men say that they would die before they go to marriage counseling. This is a contradiction that has to be remedied. For those of us who are truly Christians, we will do anything and everything necessary to serve and honor the interests of our primary relationships, and this includes spouse and children first and foremost. Without this love and humility demonstrated in our primary relationships we will be ineffective (and hypocritical) witnesses to people in the world. I've had to learn a lot about this over the years, but I continue on a personal level to try to love my wife and children, and to apologize when necessary, and to do anything and everything necessary to serve them.  This is where living the Christian life starts: at home.

Don't let the glitter and shine and glow and excitement of Christmas be something that is just on the surface level. Let the teaching of what God did in Jesus Christ permeate everything that you do, so that you are sharing and     giving to the poor and the needy, and certainly to those in your immediate sphere of influence.

And let us ponder the magnificence and self-sacrificing love of God, that He would submit Himself to the atrocities of human neglect and abuse for the sake of going all the way to the cross to die for sins. Let us praise Him and let us follow Him for His names sake. In doing so, this will be a wonderful Christmas season, and a Christmas season that makes possible our church family and personal families witnessing to what Christmas is all about.


As a fellow-follower of Jesus Christ who is seeking to learn more about putting God's love into practice, 
Pastor Mark