“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
— John 1:14 (NIV)
Since ancient times, people have tried to contain God’s presence within a physical place. King David longed to build a house where God could dwell, but God reminded him that He does not live in structures made by human hands (1 Chronicles 17:5–6). When Solomon eventually built the temple, the people became deeply attached to it. So when it was destroyed, their hope collapsed with its stones. Years later, they rebuilt it—only to live in fear that it would be destroyed again.
By the time Jesus walked the earth, the Jewish people’s greatest concern was that the Romans would tear the temple down, and eventually, they did (John 11:48). The tragedy, however, was not the building’s destruction—it was the belief that as long as they had the temple, they had God. Even when the temple still stood, they struggled to hear Him. God had been teaching them all along that His presence was never meant to be confined to a place, but revealed in a Person.
When Jesus was born, “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” He became Emmanuel—God with us. Jesus came not only to dwell among us but, through the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us. After His ascension, the Spirit came to fill our hearts, making us the true temple of God. And He came to stay.
Jesus is God. He came to live with us and in us. This is the wonder we celebrate at Christmas—and the truth we carry every day as believers.
Rising with the Son 