When Love becomes a Child
When Love Becomes a Child
“Dear Little Baby,
You smile every time I almost drop you…
And even though your cape is too long
You don’t seem to care…” (From the Song ‘My Unfading Joy’)
I’m really touched by these lines from the song My Unfading Joy, because it shows the vulnerability, simplicity and humility of the Child Jesus. Imagine the glory and grandeur of God in Heaven. Such glory beyond description and imagination! And yet He allowed Himself to become a little Child, and even allows the Sinulog dancer to almost drop Him! Isn’t it that God’s love is very peculiar, almost ridiculous!
The Christmas Season has just ended, but for us in the Philippines, especially in Cebu, the celebration goes all the way to the Feast of the Señor Santo Niño. But have you ever wondered, why did God become a little child?
When someone is about to do a big favor to us, we sometimes say, ‘Oh that is not necessary, you don’t have to do that!’ Or when we read stories of a very wealthy prince who left all his kingdom to marry a peasant girl, we find ourselves asking, but WHY? Why would he do such an unimaginable thing? All for love? But only the lover can fully understand the enormous things he is willing to do for love.
What about the INCARNATION? Have you ever asked yourself, was it really necessary for God to become man? Was it even appropriate, for Him to do it? And what is the reason? The big WHY?
Was it appropriate?
Maybe not. As it is not appropriate for a man to become a horse, it seems inappropriate for God to become man. But then God is love. He is not only loving, but He IS love. His very nature is love. And the nature of love is to always desire to be united with the beloved. In this case, since God loves man so much and seeks to be united with mankind in every way, thus, it becomes appropriate for God to become man.
Was it necessary?
Maybe not. God could have saved us in many other ways. But by becoming man, it was the best means that God could save us. Because by the Incarnation, it allows us to realize the GREAT LOVE God has for us. Love that is pure, gratuitous, and in superabundance! His love is made manifest by becoming man for us.
And now why?
Was it because of sin? Only God knows. But the source of Incarnation is God’s goodness. And God’s goodness is not dependent on sin. However, scripture also tells us in many ways, that it is because of man’s sin that God came into the world to save us.
When we try to reflect on the action of God, we cannot help but be amazed and deeply awed by the mysterious magnitude of God’s love and affection for us. Am I really that special that God would become man for me? It might sound unbelievable but the answer is YES!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17
Indeed, Jesus saved the world through His death on the Cross. But this salvation is also very personal and intimate; unique to each one of us. As St. Therese would say, God loves each soul as if it has no equal. Sometimes we feel sad, when people we love do not love us in return. We feel disheartened when human beings reject us or ignore us or even forget about us. Let us remember that our greatest Lover is not a mere man, but God himself. It is the only Love that is constant, faithful and lasts forever!
I invite you to watch all four (4) videos on the Incarnation, created by Br. Jean Savio of the Brothers of St. John. Enjoy a theological flight with pilot GG (God’s Geek), and discover the deep riches of our Faith, in an intellectually fun, creative and unconventional way.
Feel free to like and subscribe on the following YouTube channels:
Fun and Faith
Brothers of St. John Cebu
Be holy! Be happy!