God became flesh so that I could become spirit.

My pastor, Tim Franklin, Ph.D. spoke this phrase during a December 2013 sermon. This truth struck me like an arrow. Simple, yet profound.

The mystery of the incarnation boiled down to 9 words. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

As a former Catholic, I am familiar with sermons on the incarnation. Every Christmas. But Pastor Tim’s words brought the ever so familiar incarnation message to life. Simplicity.

The Christmas story is not the story of a baby being born. It is the story of a King leaving His throne in heaven, lowering Himself to “take on flesh” and become human, for the sole purpose of dying in that human body He took on. To be born…