Without the Incarnation, God may have garnered our reverence but I don’t know if he would have captured our hearts.

In terms of theology, God needed to become human to redeem our bodies and minds. As Gregory of Nazianzus puts it, ​“to purify like by like.”

But in terms of psychology — what we choose and desire — God in Jesus won us over.

When the story of God becoming human comes on like a light bulb in our minds it illuminates everything. Epiphany! It is the assurance our hearts have been longing for: God isn’t far off. God became one of us. God knows what we go through. God thinks we’re worth dying for.

I’m catching a ray of that light now as I write, a brilliant beam of the goodness of God and the wonder of the Incarnation. I suspect it’s because I’m sitting here pondering the story, turning it over in my mind, fumbling for words about it.

Sometime this Advent — perhaps mark it on your calendar — consider taking a few intentional quiet moments to meditate on the story and maybe jot down a few words about it. God may just meet you with a fresh epiphany.