The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
John 1:14, The Message Translation
The miracle of the incarnation is something that still remains a true mystery to us. We know that Christ fully joined us in our humanity, taking on a human body of His own and dealing with all that entails. We also know that even in His human body during His time walking around the Earth with us, He still remained fully God. How this could happen is beyond our ability to comprehend, and it is not for us to comprehend, but to marvel at and understand something that was key to Christ’s saving work: His presence with us.
All throughout Scripture, we see God promising that He is with His people or will not leave them.¹ Often times, God’s primary comfort to His people when they are facing difficulty is that He is with them. He says on multiple occasions to not be afraid, simply because He is with them.² But His presence is no small thing, which makes the incarnation that much more powerful. The fact that Jesus not only was near to us, but took on humanity alongside of us shows that He can truly relate to our human condition, as Hebrews 4:15 makes clear to us: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin,” (NIV).
By taking on our humanity, Christ could truly redeem us with His presence and identification with our human condition. Our brokenness and sin was not something He would fix from afar with gloves, a mask, and long poles, but something He would dive into and walk with us through to redeemed life in Him. And this presence, this nearness, gives us something to emulate in our love towards others.
In loving our neighbors, however that may look, we are called to not simply help them with something and then move on, or simply provide a service or resource and call it a day. We are called to join our neighbors and be a part of their everyday lives, building relationships with them and being present with them. We are called to this because this is exactly what Jesus did for us, and His life on this Earth set the example for how we are called to live.
This is a core value for us here at LoveINC, as seen in the fact that we are a local ministry focused on those in our neighborhoods. In order for us to be present with our neighbors, we must be near to them, and so our efforts for connecting with the community must be aimed at those in our immediate area. While Clackamas County is a large region for us to serve, we focus on connecting local churches to their local neighborhoods, helping them be present with the neighbors all around them and sharing Christ’s love with them through their presence in their life.
May we all be empowered by Christ’s example for us in being present with others, and may we find new ways to connect with others and be present in the community Christ has placed us in, as He is present there.
¹Psalm 23:4, 34:18 & 46:1, Matthew 28:20, to name a few.
²Deuteronomy 31:6, Isaiah 41:10.