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As we celebrate the wonder of Messiah’s birth, I find myself reflecting on the words of my favorite Christian theologian, Karl Barth. As Barth explains, the entire Old Testament is a time of expectation, hastening toward the birth of Jesus, while the entire New Testament serves as a recollection, witnessing to the incarnation—the central event in history.
As Barth so eloquently explains, “between God and man there stands the person of Jesus Christ, Himself God and Himself man, and so mediating between the two. In Him God reveals Himself to man. In Him man sees and knows God. In Him God stands before man and man stands before God, as is the eternal will of God, and the eternal ordination of man in accordance with this will. In Him God’s plan for man is disclosed, God’s judgment on man fulfilled, God’s deliverance of man accomplished, God’s gift to man present in fullness, God’s claim and promise to man declared…It is by him, Jesus Christ, and for Him and to Him, that the universe is created as a theatre for God’s dealings with man and man’s dealings with God.” May we take time to ponder this great wonder and its endless meaning for our lives.
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