Imagine the moment the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and the Son of God stepped out of the dazzling splendor of heaven into the darkness of Mary’s womb. In that mysterious moment, the genetics of God joined the genetics of Mary and all the essence of Deity began to grow. God became fully human but still fully God.

I remember my dad saying, that Jesus was “very God of very God.” I later learned that he was quoting from the Nicene Creed:

“I believe … in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”[1]

The One who sang the stars into existence, who measured the waters of the earth in the hollow of His hand, was born human and learned to eat, to talk and to walk. Nothing is so staggering or so mysterious as the incarnation of Almighty God in human flesh. God the Father performed a spectacular miracle where no one could see, hidden in the womb of Mary.

Humanity looks down into Bethlehem’s manger, and it becomes a watershed moment – is He God or not? The believing soul is hushed kneeling in the hay before the light that shines in the darkness and gazes in wonder at the Father’s extravagant gift of love.

For all humanity and “for our salvation He came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man….”¹

[1] Botefuhr, W. D. C. (1885) Nicene Creed. Fort Smith: Boetefuehr, W. D. C.