More Amazing Than Fiction

He was in the world,

and the world was made through Him,

and the world did not know Him. (John 1:10)

On the outer rim of the Milky Way galaxy, if you look closely, you will find our solar system—eight planets orbiting a relatively small star. Around that star circles a little grain of sand—that’s our world. 

On that grain of sand live tiny, headstrong humans made from dust, who, according to Scripture, decided to revolt against their Creator. Thinking they would be better off without Him, they mutinied against their Maker. 

How ridiculous does it get?

We are inhabitants of a planet in rebellion.

Whatever possessed these dust-people to tell the Most High God to back off? They flaunt their freedom and scoff at His guidelines for living. The High Lord of heaven—snubbed by specks of dust. 

How absurd is that?

Then, the unthinkable happens ...

The Maker of the galaxies comes to our planet disguised as a human.

He entered into the world he created, yet the world was unaware. (John  1:10 TPT)

The Creator crosses all worlds to live among us! He touches down on our planet and takes up residence on this piece of dust called terra firma.

As Philip Yancey states,

The Great Invasion had begun, a daring raid by the ruler of the forces of good into the universe's seat of evil.[1]

Nobody recognizes Him. He looks like a carpenter—but there is more to Him than meets the eye. 

This is the Maker of the cosmos, the Divine Playwright who crafted our narrative. Not content with writing the story—He steps into it. The Author of our drama moves into our neighborhood rubs shoulders with peasants and lives in anonymity. 

The One who was always with God and was God (John 1:1-18) is now with us. He is now one of us!

Nothing in history is as astounding, as shocking, as paradigm-shattering as this.

Why would the Almighty God subject Himself to such a diminishment? It’s untheological, unbefitting and undignified.

Has anything like this ever happened in the history of the universe?

The One who masterminded the cosmos arrived—and the news did not go viral. The media did not cover it. Almost no one noticed!             

If God Almighty should come to our planet, we would expect it to be an earth-shaking event. His presence would strike fear into every heart. Mortals would tremble before His limitless power, radiant majesty, and overwhelming greatness. 

We would expect Him to take charge. To impose His authority. To scatter His enemies. That’s how gods operate.

But not this God.

This God is not like Zeus.

This God is like Jesus.

He comes among us incognito and becomes a part of our world. He labors as an artisan in an obscure country village.

He goes about ministering to the sick, the needy, the outsiders. Never does He use His miraculous power or genius of wisdom to acquire wealth, influence, or social status. He feeds the hungry and eats with sinners. He identifies with the broken, the burdened, the vulnerable, and the weak. 

It never crossed our minds that the Most High would come among us to love, give, and serve. We did not expect to see Him 

… wading waist-deep into the muck of life, weeping with the broken, rescuing the lost, and healing the sick.[2]

Gods are not known to be humble. They are high and mighty—not meek and lowly. They come to take charge—not to take the role of a servant.

The man from Galilee overturns all our notions about Deity. He redefines God for us. 

He showcases the incomparable beauty of God. In the human life of Jesus, we see the majestic tenderness, the unspeakable goodness, the heart-grabbing loveliness of God.

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (John 1:18 ESV).

In Jesus of Nazareth, we see how humble, self-giving, and wonderfully compassionate and generous God truly is. 

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross. (Phil. 2:6-8 TLB)

E. Stanley Jones writes,

He did not merely bend over to hand out, he bent over to get under. He stooped under the poverty and the toil, the sin and the shame, the troubles and the toil—under the very lives of fallen men, and when there was nothing left to get under, he got under the cross and bore that for them.[3]

The Incarnation is the belief that the Lord of the universe has become a part of our story—and a part of our predicament. 

Immanuel turns out to mean that we are in this together. He has joined our ranks to such a degree that our dilemma has become His dilemma. Our misfortune has become His. 

He got embroiled in our brokenness—more than any self-respecting God ever should have.

Immersed in our mess.

Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIRV)

He shouldered our cause.

We are no longer alone in our distress. Hope has come.

Glen Scrivener put it like this: 

In becoming man, Jesus stepped into the cockpit of this world and through His death and resurrection, turned the whole thing around.

We have a Redeemer. 

We live in a universe where something astonishing took place. The Divine Writer of our story crossed over into our world. Our planet was invaded by the incarnate love of God. A most daring rescue operation! A stunning conspiracy of grace!

He came to salvage the narrative and steer it towards a glorious finale.

And when He finishes writing the last chapter, everything will be made new. The earth will be flooded with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

We are still trying to come to terms with what took place.

But one thing is clear. 

We are in a story more amazing than fiction.

FORWARD TO the next post in this Advent series

BACK TO What If Mary Had Said “No”?

Bio: Dr. Jurgen Schulz is a Canadian missionary from Victoria, B.C., who, along with his wife Wendy, has served in Bolivia for over forty years. He is currently an instructor at the Seminario Bíblico Evangélico in the Andean city of La Paz, Bolivia. 

Earlier this year, Jurgen was granted an honorary doctorate by the Universidad Nuestro Pacto International. You can read more about the ministries of Jurgen and Wendy at this link on the MSC website.

Jurgen has written several books, including What Story Have We Fallen Into?, which you can purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, and other stores.

Notes:

1. Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 43.

2. Judah Smith, Jesus is: Find a New Way to be Human (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013), 26.

3. E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of Every Road (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1930), 65.

Photo credit: Depositphotos_88351652_Ljpg.