Our Brother – January 1, 2021

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Luke 2:40

Our Brother

Can God grow? If you were to measure God today and then measure him a month from now, would there be any difference in his size? Can God become stronger? Can he struggle to open a pickle jar today but a few years from now be able to open it with ease? Can God become smarter? Are there things he doesn’t know right now that he will learn later?

Those questions probably seem nonsensical. Of course, God doesn’t grow. He fills the universe now, just as he always has and just as he always will. He can’t become more almighty or more all-knowing. He can do all things and knows all things, and that never changes.

Yet, in Jesus, God did grow. He did become stronger. He did learn and grow in wisdom. This is true because Jesus was not only true God but also was truly a human being. He was conceived in his mother’s womb even as you and I were conceived in our mother’s wombs. He went through all the stages of fetal development that you and I went through. He was born as an infant just as we were. As a true human infant, Jesus was incapable of feeding himself or caring for himself. He relied on his mother, just as you and I did when we were infants. And day by day he grew. He got bigger and taller. He became stronger. He even learned things and became smarter.

That the infinite, almighty, and all-knowing Son of God grew and became stronger and learned is a fact that is beyond our understanding. Yet it is at the same time wonderfully comforting. If Jesus had come only as God, he could not have been our Savior. In order to save us, Jesus needed to become a human being so he could take our place. And the fact that he grew and became strong and was filled with wisdom shows us that he truly is one of us. He truly is human. He truly is our Brother. He truly is our Savior.

Prayer:
Thank you for becoming my Brother so that you might take my place and save me. Amen.