It feels almost sacrilegious to call God vulnerable.

And it would be, if being vulnerable means being a victim. But it doesn’t.

Choosing vulnerability is an act of strength and courage. To be vulnerable is to allow yourself to be known and open yourself to be hurt. It is the road on which friendship travels.

Nowhere is God’s vulnerability more evident than in the Incarnation.

Fresh in my mind is a drawing by artist Scott Erickson. It is a side profile of baby Jesus, naked and lying on his back. In the frame are hands, presumably Mary’s, lifting his legs and wiping his bottom, along with the words MIGHTY GOD.

What could be more vulnerable than becoming a baby? What kind of love would compel God to go to such lengths?

Author and musician Michael Card has worked for ten years to unpack this love, expressed in the Hebrew word hesed. He joined Nathan Foster on the Renovaré Podcast to talk about why it is one of the most important words in Scripture, and one that is impossible to perfectly translate. (In the attempt, translators have used 169 English words including lovingkindness, mercy, steadfast love.)

God knew we needed more than language to understand this kind of love. We needed a person—hesed made flesh and living among us, full of grace and truth, mighty in his vulnerability.

* * *

On behalf of the Staff, Board, and Ministry Team at Renovaré, may your Christmas be full of joy and light,

God the Vulnerable

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