I want to thank John Starke for the insightful blog that spurred me to think more about the wonderful exchange that Christmas represents. Read his blog here: The Most High God Who Became Like Us
Here's my thought: all that's broken in my life and in the world has its roots in this one thing: I (we) want to be God. Not just "like" God because, as Starke points out Adam and Eve were already like God. In fact, they were co-regents in God's newly created, very good. So, the prize they sought was not God-likeness, but Godness, divinity, complete autonomy. No wonder God sees and treats us as traitors and rebels!
However, the majestic, grace-filled irony of Christmas is that the salvation of divinity seeking rebels comes though a humanity-seeking God! We wanted (and often still want) to be God. God of our lives, God of our marriages, God of our jobs, God of our churches. But while we were striving to usurp God, God was condescending to become human. And that is the mystery of the Christ's incarnation, isn't it? "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"
So, this Christmas maybe in addition to reading the Christmas story, we can ponder the great exchange. Our pursuit of Godness, the root of our sin and rebellion has been replaced by God's achievement of humanness. And because of this we will be restored to the God-likeness we were originally created to have. SDG
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