Incarnation is one of the strongest pillars the gospel has to offer: that God himself became a man and lived among us.
Incarnation is also one of the strongest demands of the gospel: if God has loved us enough to fully immerse himself in our world, then we as Christ-followers have no reason to hold ourselves back. The goal of the Christian life is not escaping this world, although the temptation to do so takes many forms, and it’s easy to get off track.
I’m wondering today if I might be a little off track.
When Matt and I first moved to this apartment, one of our goals was incarnation – we prayerfully chose to move from a basement apartment in a rich neighbourhood to a building near our church that people tend to not move in to. We did not come here to be saints – the relationship with our former landlady had soured, and Matt’s commute was almost an hour by transit, so there were practical reasons for moving closer, but our hearts’ desire was also to contribute to transformation in our neighbourhood by our presence. Continue reading “Incarnation”