Today’s Reading: Luke 1:57-80 (additional reading: Psalm 58:1-11 & Proverbs 11:12-13 )

It has been said that if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Saviour!

I think we forget how desperate our need for forgiveness was. I wonder if we do not realize how great a need we had and still have for the grace of God and how great God is for providing that grace and forgiveness to us in the person of Jesus Christ. God is worthy of our praise. That God is worthy of our praise is a fact we have explored already in Luke’s account and one which we’ll continue to see.

There is a story about a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favour, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others, you have given your rich gifts. To me, you have given yourself!” God did that for us.

The word visit means more than to drop in on. It has the idea of going with a desire to do something. Philippians 2 says that He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is an event that ought to solicit great praise from the hearts of men and women who love the Lord. “The word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” But He didn’t dwell among us because He was bored. He saw our pitiful condition and chose to do something about it. Because He redeemed us. He redeemed us! He paid the ransom price!

Reflection

What is your biggest need today?