"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1&14)

Every year the religious world tells the story of Jesus' miraculous birth ... and for a short while all seem to be in agreement over God's gift to man. Many will sing the same Christmas carols, watch the same Christmas plays, even get the same Christmas chills. And I have to remind myself - despite all the attention given to the miraculous union of God and man inherent in the season - religion has been engaged in an ongoing business determined to separate it.

Actually, it's merely the attempt to separate what God has joined together, for in reality it cannot be done. But THIS is the difference between life and religion. One is understood through the UNION, the other through the DISSECTING of the union. One is truly the life of GOD, while the other is just a FORM of godliness. How else does one tell the incredibly miraculous story of the joining of God and man only to turn around and deny it as it relates to us?

As to understanding the meaning of "the Word", religion insists upon a detailed doctrinal formula that can be quoted and given lip service to in the attempt to validate agreement - which ranks merely as a fleshly benchmark of "truth". Life, on the other hand, EMBEDS this understanding so that it finds agreement in a real and living way. The connection between word and speaker is not intellectual, but organic, so that the word expresses the being. And if sinners have experienced this in a flawed sense for millennia, how much more did God's Word perfectly express His being from the beginning?

So, why do we continually fall back upon the wording of a doctrinal statement in an attempt to get a handle on what it means for the Word to have become flesh? Do we really understand it better from all our words and explanations and illustrations? I think not. But I can tell you where the understanding is found.

"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has GIVEN US UNDERSTANDING, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20

Sure, religion will tell you that "God loves you" and that He bestows favor, but it will make sure you are always reminded of the DIFFERENCE between God and yourself. But God gave His Son so that you would always know the CONNECTION between you and Him. When someone tries to convince you that this is not true ... simply point them toward the one who became the joining of God and man: the Word made flesh.