At the very heart of Christianity is an astounding truth-claim that is celebrated all around the world at Christmas. The claim is that God, the one who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man, but (before that) a baby, and before that a foetus inside a woman’s body. [CS Lewis, Mere Christianity]. This claim is central to the Christian faith and is known as the doctrine of the Incarnation. The word ‘’incarnation” is of Latin origin, and literally means “to make flesh”. The word incarnation is not used in the Bible, but we see its meaning in the prologue to Johns Gospel. (The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us). The Incarnation is at the heart of the biblical message for it reveals the person and nature of Jesus Christ. It can be difficult to understand what is going on in the incarnation, for that I turn an Analogy.
CS Lewis, the brilliant Oxford academic, lay theologian and author provides one in his book Miracles. Lewis invited the reader to imagine the incarnation as a diver plunging into a deep pool of water to retrieve a lost precious object. The diver first strips off his clothes and then dives into the warm green water, as the diver swims downward, the pressure increases, he swims down further to the black and freezing cold waters, to an area of ooze, slime and decay, then, the diver comes up again towards the surface, back to the colour and light, with his lungs almost bursting, he breaks the surface, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover. And what is this lost yet precious object, that merited this dangerous and difficult descent? It is “human nature”. God “descended into his own universe, and rose again, bringing human nature up with him.
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