A Savior Born to Dwell Among Us Bringing Glory – December 30, 2022

He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made . . . We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father.
John 1:2,3,14

A Savior Born to Dwell Among Us Bringing Glory

A well-loved Christmas hymn echoes the words that angels sang the night Jesus was born: “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”—Latin for “Glory to God in the highest.” What a glorious sight that must have been. Shepherds caring for their sheep that night suddenly were surrounded by angels who announced that a child was born in Bethlehem. And the glory of the Lord shone around them—a brilliant light confirming that these were no ordinary messengers.

But the glory wasn’t theirs. They didn’t deserve the praise. “Glory to God!” they sang. But what was so glorious? An almost helpless babe lay in a crude makeshift cradle in a little town off the beaten path. A few lowly shepherds heard the news and went to see him. There was no glow coming from his bed, no angels visibly standing by, no evidence that anything remarkable was happening.

But that’s how the glory of God comes to us—hidden in the humble and lowly, concealed in the ordinary and unexpected. Don’t let looks deceive you. The Savior born to dwell among us brings glory. Heaven came to earth in that humble baby. The one through whom everything was created became one with his creation. The only Son of God became a man so that sinful humans would be forgiven and counted as children and heirs of God.

We see God’s glory most clearly, not in bright lights or jaw-dropping miracles, but in love that went to impossible lengths to serve and save us. Love that left the perfect joy of heaven to come to earth to free us and forgive us. We see God’s glory in that child—our Savior. In the Bible’s message, we see that glory by faith. One day, we will see God’s unveiled glory with our own eyes.

In this new year, may God open our eyes to see his glory more clearly through his Word every day.

Prayer:
Glory to God in the highest! In your hidden glory on earth, help me to see the perfect glory you have prepared for me in heaven. Amen.