The first reflection in the Jewels from John series was on John 1:14 and I want to return to and reflect further on this now. Why? It is because just a few days after publishing this article we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Word become flesh.

The Apostle John did not include a nativity account in his Gospel. Instead, he referenced probably the most mysterious, wonderful, and incomprehensible event in human history. The Word, who was with God in the beginning and was indeed God, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us”. The 25^th of December each year is designated as the time to remember and celebrate this marvellous event.

I want to avoid the complex and often obtuse doctrine of the incarnation and rather say this: In the year 3BC the great and glorious second person of the divine Godhead became a human being! He was, and still is for all eternity, fully man and fully God. He is the visible image of the invisible God, the fullness of divinity in bodily form, and the exact representation of the Godhead.

How can we understand this? We cannot because we do not have the capacity to comprehend this wonder. At best, we can construct models, form theories, and formulate doctrines, all of which fall far short of reality. A multi-dimensional reality that is both natural and supernatural and that spans heaven and earth. A wonder beyond our experience and vocabulary.

In ancient times God was thought to live in impenetrable light hidden from mortal view. He was so incomprehensible to humans that even his name was the enigmatic “I am who I am”. Then the timeline of human history inverted from BC to AD in the cosmic inflection point we call the incarnation. God the Son presented himself to the created world and displayed his glory, full of grace and truth. Behold your God!

Yet he did not appear in a flash of light as a superman among feeble mortals, but as a baby, born of a human mother. In her womb, the essence of God merged with her DNA and formed a new and wonderful creation. And this God-child was given the name Jesus, which in the Hebrew tongue means ‘Saviour’. “I-am-who-I am, the saviour of humanity”.

This is the Jewel of Christmas. This is the wonder of the incarnation. This is what we celebrate on Christmas day.

Now, thousands of years later, we can know the answers to the deepest questions of life – what is God like? Does he care? Is he good? The answer is ‘Look to Jesus … yes he is good and caring. Look to Jesus and you will know what God is like.’ How should I live? Is there a life after this? What is my purpose? Look to Jesus.