Inspiration Explaining God
BY DR. RICH FRAZER
There is no more difficult task than communicating what we mean. Even though we say or write what we want to communicate, it doesn’t always come out like we want. I believe it was former President Richard Nixon who said to the International Press Corps:
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
Sometimes it’s the meanings of words that complicate or misconstrue our thoughts. Take, for example, these statements found on insurance forms where drivers attempted to describe the details of their automobile accidents:
I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.
I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother- in-law, and headed over an embankment.
I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way, causing me to have an accident.
On other occasions we may misunderstand others’ intentions or motivations. Take, for example, the older lady who called her daughter to tell her, “Somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windshield that said ‘Parking Fine.’ That was so nice.”
And who among us doesn’t succumb to “in print” bloopers? These correction notices written by professional writers testify to our tendency toward misstatement:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are one of hundreds of parachuting enthusiasts who bought our Easy Sky Diving book, please make the following correction: on page 8, line 7, the words “state zip code” should have read “pull rip cord.”
The marriage of Miss Freda vanAmburg and Willie Branton, which was announced in this paper a few weeks ago, was a mistake which we wish to correct.
Fortunately, our Lord has no need to correct any gaffes. When He wanted to communicate His intentions, His motivations and His manner to mankind, He did so by the most accurate and effective means possible.
To make His message unmistakable and His will unavoidable He dispatched from Heaven the One who most faithfully embodied His nature – His Son, Jesus Christ.
The apostle John writes it this way: “And the Word (Jesus Christ) became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
A few verses later He writes: “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18).
To Joseph the angel recited the prediction that the Child born of a virgin would be named, Immanuel – which means, God with us! (emphases added).
Like me, you have likely heard (or even preached) enough Christmas messages in your lifetime to be tempted to approach this history-splitting event with a nonchalant and dispassionate spirit. Familiarity does tend to breed an “I’ve heard it all before” attitude. If this describes you, I have one piece of advice:
SNAP OUTOF IT!
The baby all soft and snuggled in the arms of Mary is the powerful God who created everything and is the One for Whom everything was created (Colossians 1:16). The One in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger is the Eternal One presently clothed in majesty and seated in the heavens! The child born in an animal’s quarters is so immense the heavens cannot contain Him.
Jesus has revealed the heart of our Father in no uncertain terms. Keep your focus on the significance of the Christmas before you. You’ll be pleasantly reminded as you look afresh at the reports of the Incarnation (Matthew 1–2; Luke 1–2; John 1:1–18). You’ll be awakened as you rediscover the descriptions of the Son of God in the Christmas carols. And you’ll be refreshed in the joy that this Jesus is living in you.
Have I made myself clear?
Dr. Rich Frazer is President of SOS International.
For more information on SOS International, go to
http://sosinternational.us. You can reach him at
richfrazer@gmail.com.
December 2011
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