It used to be the final exam I gave every second semester to my U.S. History students. They would walk in on our last day and receive a paper with one question at the top:
Pick one person in the history of this country who is not a president that you believe best defines the spirit of Americanism, and write a brief explanation why.
Through the years, the most popular responses I received ranged from Benjamin Franklin to Neil Armstrong, Martin Luther King, Jr. to Walt Disney. But every so often I would get a unique response - individuals like Francis Marion (the "swamp fox" of the Revolutionary War), guitarist Jimi Hendrix, and one that really didn't age well.
An aspiring filmmaker in my class one year chose Miramax founder Harvey Weinstein as his quintessential American. I've long since thrown his paper away, but it was unique enough of an answer that I remember him writing about the incredible cinematic masterpieces that Weinstein had produced. Not only that, but the now infamous movie producer had distinguished himself as one of the more articulate and persuasive voices in Hollywood, inspiring a multitude of other aspiring directors, producers, and screenwriters, obviously including my impressionable student.
Of course, it would later turn out that despite Weinstein's incredible works, and despite his impressive words, the actual man himself left a lot to be desired. A jury of his peers found him guilty of rape as well as a handful of other despicable crimes.
I often think about that example whenever this time of year rolls around and sophisticated voices start scoffing at the prospect of the Incarnation of God into human flesh. To the "wise and learned," the prospect of God becoming a human baby is as fictitious as it is altogether unnecessary.
"What's the point?" they ask. And even those of us who have been Christians for a significant portion of our lives may, at times, wonder the same thing. Why not just issue a corrective dictate from heaven? Why not use supernatural, cosmic compulsion to enact His preferred will on the course of human events? Why waste time coming to earth in the first place, and then go to the extra lengths of taking on our injured, vulnerable flesh to do it?
Among other reasons, there is one that humbles me every time I consider it.
In the first six verses of Psalm 19, Israel's King David attests that the "heavens declare the glory of God," elaborating that one need not speak any human language, travel to any particular location, or fulfill any kind of task to observe the evidence for God's existence. Just open your eyes and the complexity of the heavens (the calculus of planetary motion), the intricacy of design (the functioning of the human cell), the grandeur of creation (gaping canyons, imposing mountains, mysterious oceans) all testify without contradiction to the wonders of an incomprehensible Designer.
For millennia, God was known by his works, David said. But that's not all. In the remainder of chapter 19, David points out that God was also known to man by His words. The statutes, commands, and decrees that have proven perfect.
The history of a rebellious humanity, seeking his own truth, following his own path, pursuing his own desires, has authoritatively demonstrated the wisdom inherent in God's word. Only a perfect Being, wise beyond human comprehension, could create moral guideposts that even in the midst of suffering would bring a joy and contentment impossible to find elsewhere.
In other words, before the Incarnation, God had faithfully revealed Himself to man through precept, power, and principle. But the best was yet to come. He would, in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, reveal Himself to man in a Person. One that we could see, hear, and interact with (which had always been God's preferred intent before our sinful rebellion in the Garden delayed it all). That's exactly what Jesus would later affirm in John 14, telling those who would listen, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."
But why? Why was it important for us to see the Father in such a personal way?
Well, think back to Harvey Weinstein. One can be known for their impressive works and their commanding words, but not until their person is revealed can their character, their heart, their true identity be seen. In Jesus, God revealed His love, His compassion, His sacrificial heart in an irresistible way.
That's why the Incarnation. That's why this yearly celebration. An eternal God, with eternal love, finding eternal purpose in a fallen humanity, descending to earth to bring joy everlasting.
Have you received your King?
