"What If God Were One of Us?'

Several years ago a popular song raised the question, "What if God were one of us?" Though some of the language in the song feels irreverent, the question is a good one with a startling answer. A baby born in Bethlehem is 'Emmanuel' which means "God with us!" God is now "one of us."

And if that is not startling enough, we are told that God became one of us so that we might become one with God ("partakers of the divine nature' to quote the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 1:4). The focus of Christian spiritual formation is honoring the purpose of God becoming one of us. It is living into the reality of the divine nature within us through the Holy Spirit. This is not something manufactured by self-help pop psychology. It is all a gift of grace, the gift of the gospel, the gift of Christmas.

In just seven days, "God becomes one of us!" What a gift.