Christmastime.

Thank God for sending us His Son Jesus Christ! This Christmas I got to thinking about those who were the first to greet Jesus- the shepherds and the magi. The shepherds- the most humble, lowly. The magi- the most scholarly, thoughtful, versed, yet humble because of the knowledge of the magnitude of God and His creation. These were the first to see Jesus and praise Him, to bring honor, glory, and gifts. How are we like the shepherds? How are we like the magi? I pray that God would grow me in humility to go and bring praise and glory to Him because of His awesomeness.

Here is what's been on my friend's mind that I thought was just awesome...

"The Word Became Flesh...

I woke up this morning with a simple realization about the meaning of Christmas: Jesus crossed cultures. In choosing to leave His place at the right hand of the Father, deciding to lay down His comfort and privileges, and entering into our neighborhood to make His dwelling among us, Jesus set the ultimate example for cross-cultural ministry. He laid down His life in order to love, to woo, and to build relationship with a people who did not know Him. He restored relationship with humanity and called us "friends."And as I think about the pain, the messiness, and the brokenness of the world He chose to enter into, I realize that Jesus' act of crossing cultures was not an easy or romantic thing.

Jesus chose to enter into this world as a humble baby, in a dirty manger, to two totally powerless and vulnerable people, in the midst of crazy violence and social upheaval. Jesus chose to walk among the deepest and darkest parts of humanity, dwelling not among those who considered themselves closest to "God" but among those who most fully conveyed the deepest woes of humanity- sinners, tax collectors, lepers, outcasts, the rejected, the hopeless, and the weary. But it was only through this intense act of crossing cultures that Jesus could reveal the fullness of God to us. Light entered into the darkness, and the invisible God became visible. The Word became flesh, and the unknowable God became knowable. Somehow, through Jesus' act of crossing cultures, we could now experience and witness the living God among us, in our own neighborhood. And the fullness of God has been revealed to us.

This is why we celebrate Christmas. (...) I am hopeful because I recognize that my God, in Jesus Christ, understands the violence and the messiness that comes with crossing cultures, but established a way for peace in the midst of it. (...) I am hopeful because Jesus has made a way for me. And this Christmas, I am thankful, that celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ is more than just some pleasant idea or some cultural ritual. It is a celebration of a God who chose to cross cultures- a God who did not remain far off but chose to come near and enter into our world. What a mystery. What a miracle." -Erina Kim.

Merry Christmas!!!