He Became Like Us!

   John 1:14 tells us that "the Word became flesh and lived among us." The God of the universe - of everything - left His glorious throne in heaven and moved into our neighborhood. Why? He wanted to be with us.

 There's an extraordinary story about a man injured in a horrific fire. While attempting to save his parents, his face was horribly burned and permanently, hideously disfigured. He kept his face covered and would not let anyone see him, including his wife. When she went to a plastic surgeon for help, he assured her that he could restore her husband's face. But she wasn't there to restore his face, she wanted her face disfigured so she could share his pain.

It's the way God feels about us - He took our face, our disfigurement, our sin. He became like us to show us how far He would go to be with the ones He loved. He would rather die than live without us. And so He did.

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"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected...we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took our pain and bore our suffering...He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed...He poured out His life unto death..."

   -- From Isaiah 53

P.S. He did that for US? Yes, He did that for us!