In the beginning, God was present. Long before our world began, God’s Presence was there. One day, God’s Presence hovered over the depths and gazed upon the world’s unformed substance, and spoke the words of life into the dark and chaotic mess, “Let there be light!” The Spoken Word came forth from the Divine Presence, and all we have ever known came into being.
As creation progressed, the Divine Presence remained present. God continued to reach out to creation through the Spoken Word in the form of miracles, signs, and prophets. God loved his creation and longed to be in relationship with all that he had made. Sadly, creation pushed back. Instead of welcoming relationship with the Divine Presence, we chose our independence. Very quickly, our selfish ambitions spiraled out of control. We became, once again, an unformed and chaotic mess.
But God was not finished with us. Rather than remove His Relational Presence, God chose to become one of us, as the ultimate sign of His loving commitment to His creation. The Word that spoke all things into being and brought order to chaos became flesh, and dwelt among us. The Word that was with God in the beginning, and was God in the beginning, became one of us, and moved into our neighborhood. God became flesh, something we could see and touch and through whom we might experience Divine Relationship on our own turf. This Word was called Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” His name is Jesus.
The same Divine Presence that gazed upon our unformed substance, created all things, and became flesh, is still with us. The same Spirit that hovered over the depths continues to dwell within the hearts of those who have put their faith in Jesus, the Word made flesh. God is still with his creation. God is still speaking to us. God is still forming the chaos of our lives into Divine Order through His Relational Presence, WITH US.
This Advent, may we hear God’s Spoken Word through the words of this devotional. May we know that God is with us always, no matter what. As we remember and anticipate the day the “Word became flesh,” may we allow the word to be made flesh once more in our own lives. May we know, and be a sign to all, that God is still with us.
Happy Advent!
Alex