GODOLOGY, WEEK 4
This is probably the most difficult chapter for all of us to grasp in our study of God. Let’s face it: the idea of God being vulnerable, open to pain, experiencing suffering is not what we normally think God should face. But that is exactly what the manger scene at Christmas is all about: God incarnate as flesh and bone like us, one of us. The name Isaiah the prophet gave Jesus was “Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” For God to be with us, he must be like us, meaning He is vulnerable. George writes this so well:
“It wasn’t enough for God to create a femur; He had to stand on one. It wasn’t enough for God to create a finger; He had to point with one. And by becoming a man with real bumps and bruises, God intensified His relationship with us.”
This is why he writes that God has “shown some skin” through the person of Jesus. Jesus, who is 100% God, became 100% man, so you and I could become 100% free from sin’s curse. That is why we celebrate Jesus’ birth: it was the most radical step all of eternity has ever seen!
Question For Reflection: When we consider what great thing He did for us in coming to earth as a baby, what should we be challenged to do for Him?
I never thought about it but when Jesus was on earth he uses to get cuts and bruises and be human. I have heard the stories but this chapter made me stop and think.I know that Jesus did not sin while he was on earth. I can’t believe people would think that. We have a good life in America. People are starving and we are taking the calories out of food.
that was funny I thought but we should think and care about others more. This chapter was difficult and a little confusing too.
Just something to throw out as a point, I think that another reason God can forgive us, is the unimaginable vulnerability he had as Jesus.
I agree that journaling is important for us to do because it can help us remember what we have taken in from Gods word. I don’t think its as painful as cutting an artery onto a piece of paper.
This chapter is a little confusing as John mentioned, but I sort of get what he is saying.
This chapter was a little confusing but I think I mostly understood it. We are lucky to live in a country where we can worship God freely. In some countries you can be killed for being a Christian. We think it is just so horrible when someone makes fun of us for being a Christian but we don’t think about how bad it could be if we lived in a country without religious freedom.
One thing that really stuck out in this chapter was the thing about how we want a controlled faith. We want to be able to have everything right where we want it, when we want it, and how. But in reality, we don’t control a single thing that goes on in our life. All we can do is trust God to get us through it. That’s the best plan anyway. Who knows how we would mess up our lives if we controlled it all?