All-inclusive experience

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  –Luke 2:13-14 (NIV)
 
We’re focused on the birth of Christ today, and rightfully so. So many personalities, so much prophecy fulfilled, God taking on flesh to become Immanuel – all significant stuff, worthy of our attention, our consideration, and our wonder. For just a moment, I want to take a step back and see a bigger picture. Without the manger, there’s no cross. Without the cross, there’s no empty tomb. Without the empty tomb, there’s no hope. And if there’s no hope, then why are we here?
 
The moment Eve and Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, God’s plan of redeeming His creation was set in motion. Not that the plan originated at that time – the fact we would need to be redeemed was a reality that God knew about well before then. As such, He had a lot of options available for carrying out the plan, with greater or lesser levels of investment and involvement, more or less dramatic demonstrations of His authority and power.
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  –John 1:1-2,14 (ESV)
 
God opted for the “all-inclusive” experience. The one where He became fully human. Starting inside the womb of a teenaged Jewish girl. He would experience life as a baby, a boy, a teenager, a man; He’d feel hunger, fatigue, and temptation. Why did He choose that? Let’s look ahead….
 
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  –John 13:1 (ESV)
 
Another rendering of this verse, one that perhaps provides additional insight into God’s plan of redemption, says Jesus “showed His friends the full extent of His love”. The narrative proceeds to Jesus washing the apostles’ feet, but the expression, whether “loving to the end” or “the full extent of His love”, carries implications that extend both backward and forward from this moment.
 
Jesus’ entire earthly life, from His humble birth, to His obedient childhood, to His ministry, to this act of foot-washing service, to submitting to the arrest and mock trials that would lead to His sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection spoke to a level of commitment that proved Jesus to be a different kind of King ruling over a different kind of Kingdom. He understands what it’s like to be us, as He calls us to be like Him.
 
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  –John 3:16 (KJV)
 
No wonder the angels celebrated as they proclaimed His arrival! They had been waiting for this moment since creation. Glory to God in the highest indeed!