When Jesus came into the world, he came into our world. God had always been ‘out there’; different; holy. But then God, the extraordinary, became ordinary.
The early church tried to understand how God could become human, and how to describe the composition of the body of Christ. They concluded it was a mystery, but that it was absolutely true and absolutely necessary. If Jesus was not fully God and fully human we could not be saved from our sin. Only God could atone for sin, and only a man could represent us.
When we try to understand someone, we may talk about ’putting ourselves in their shoes’. This is essential for relationships to work successfully– it means we can sympathise; it makes patience possible. At Christmas, God ‘put himself in our shoes’ to such an extraordinary extent, that he can now save us from our most pressing problem- death and judgment. When God crossed the universe and entered our world, he was able to sympathise with our weakness (this was the role of the priest in the Old Testament– Jesus is the eternal great High Priest).
So as we head into Christmas, my prayer is that you will put your trust in Jesus as the one who is able to help us. Whatever hurt, burden or pain you feel, God does understand and will fix it all up one day.
I also pray that you will be like God– ‘put yourself in other people’s shoes’; showing understanding and compassion for those who are lost; extending patience and consideration to others; and reaching out to those most in need.
Yours in Christ, Andrew.

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