The Conspiracy - Give More

Hey Tribe of Vibe!

What a great talk last talk! Matt talked to us about the incarnation! How often do we hear that term? Yet incarnation is what we celebrate during the Christmas season! For those wondering what that word even means, it’s a term used for the coming of God’s Son into the world as a human being! It’s crazy to think of such a big, mighty God coming down to earth in form of a baby!

Matt showed us an illustration on stage of what this was like. Ryan, one of the students, was called up on stage and was asked to go inside of a house! One small problem! The house was a gingerbread house that was probably the size of his face. Clearly, Ryan, at his height, could not get inside! It was fun seeing him try as we got to see some gingerbread house smashing! Just like Ryan was trying to get in the house, God had to come down to earth to be with us, except it was possible for Him!

I want to share with you another awesome illustration about God coming down to earth. In The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancy learns about incarnation with his fish!

Management of a marine aquarium, I discovered, is no easy task. I had to run a portable chemical laboratory to monitor the nitrate levels and the ammonia content. I pumped in vitamins and antibiotics and sulfa drugs and enough enzymes to make a rock grow. I filtered the water through glass fibers and charcoal, and exposed it to ultraviolet light. You would think, in view of all the energy expended on their behalf, that my fish would at least be grateful. Not so. Every time my shadow loomed above the tank they dove for cover into the nearest shell. They showed me one ‘emotion’ only: fear. Although I opened the lid and dropped in food on a regular schedule, three times a day, they responded to each visit as a sure sign of my designs to torture them. I could not convince them of my true concern.

To my fish I was deity. I was too large for them, my actions too incomprehensible. My acts of mercy they saw as cruelty; my attempts at healing they viewed as destruction. To change their perceptions, I began to see, would require a form of incarnation. I would have to become a fish and ‘speak’ to them in a language they could understand.

As you can see from these illustrations, it’s a big deal that God is Immanuel, God with us! (Isaiah 7:14) It required a lot for Him to be with us. It started with Mary, a virgin, having a Son called Jesus, the Messiah! Although Jesus was born human, we can take comfort that God has always existed. He became flesh as John 1:1 states.

We read about the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25. I encourage you to go through this passage one more time; this time think about how this is not just a birth of a child but God coming in the form of man so that we can be with Him! Now that is love!

Main points of the night:

1. God is Not Far Away

2. God cares about me

3. Certain about Heaven

Remember how Immanuel means God with us! God is never far away from us! We know God loves us through his actions! He cared enough about us to come down to earth! What a relief it is to know that you can have eternal life in heaven! (1 John 5:13)

So What!?! (what we can do)

Be Present

Serve

Love

Whenever people we care about are going through tough times, we seem to struggle with what to do. How can you truly comfort people!?! When it comes down to it, they won’t remember what you said; they remember that you were there! Being present is the best gift we can give! There’s no better time than the holidays to serve! There are so many ways to serve, from the Angel Tree to the food bank. Jesus tells us to love even our enemies in Matthew 5: 46-47! Being present, serving, and loving are great ways to respond to God’s love and celebrate this season!

So let’s celebrate!

~Ash