Micah's prophecy of the coming ruler or Messiah tells us that his "origins are from the distant past":  Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. Bethlehem, the virtually insignificant village would be the birthplace of a ruler who originated long ago.  How is one born in a place if he originated in the distant past?  That's a question many have asked.  The incarnation is a reasonable answer.

Incarnation means God taking on flesh, or becoming human.  Jesus is God in the flesh.  He is the fulfillment of this promise.  One of the most important beliefs we hold as followers of Jesus is that He is co-existent with God, that is His origins are not just from the distant past, but He has no beginning and no end, because He is God.   That's quite a belief, but not an unreasonable one.  After all, Jesus' birth was accomplished without a human father.  He lived a miraculous life.  He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.  Some call all these events myths.  They don't believe Jesus was born of a virgin, that He could perform miracles, that He rose from the dead or ascended into heaven.  It doesn't matter what they believe (or what we believe), it matters what's true.  I'll admit I can't "prove" Jesus is God to the satisfaction of a scientist, but neither can the scientist prove that Jesus is not God. 

I mentioned in worship yesterday morning that in my teenage years I became interested in proving or disproving whether Jesus was who He said He was (and is).  In that search I came across the premise that since Jesus claimed to be God, He is either a liar, a lunatic, a legend or Lord.  It's reasonable to assume He is one of those, because when someone claims to be God He must be one of them.  An examination of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) shows us that Jesus is not a liar or a lunatic.  Examination of Jewish and Roman historians who were contemporaries of Jesus shows that they acknowledged His existence, so He wasn't a legend.  That means it's reasonable for us to assume that He is who He said He is:  the Son of God, which confirms Micah's prophecy that tells us His origins are from the distant past.

All that's good to know, but more than that, knowing that Jesus is God makes ALL the difference.  It gives meaning and purpose to our lives, and assures us that all His promises are true.  This life is short, especially when compared with eternity, so the best thing we can do is use as much of this life as possible to trust Jesus, be filled with His Spirit and be and live as much like Him as possible! 

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to deliver us from sin and death!  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so we may honor You, the one, true God:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all that we are and do.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.