INCARNATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVEALING HIMSELF IN IDEAL HUMANITY

GOD BECAME INCARNATE IN ORDER THAL HE MIGHT REVEAL IN HIMSELF THE IDEAL HUMANITY

Man has never yet become all that he ought to be. He has never reached the ideal that God has in mind for a redeemed humanity. In fact, man has not even reached his own ideals, More than that, the wisest men unaided by divine revelation have not even been able to agree on what the ideal ought to be. Of course, the moral philosophers will talk learnedly about. their "categorical imperative," tell you to be good, to follow after righteousness, and "be a man." But what is "goodness?" What is "right?" What is "a man?" Well, God has answered all such questions forever by the Incarnation. of His Only Begotten Son.

 The Son of God Incarnate reveals WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE RIGHT NOW. The New Testament presents Him not only as our Divine Redeemer, but also as our Perfect Example. We Christians ought: to walk, writes John, "even as He walked" (1 John 2:6). And Peter adds that, "Christ: also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21), It is a staggering ideal, and someone may be saying, But we do not walk as He walked. And we must all make that bitter, confession. But as we make our confession, if we are true believers, we must keep on affirming that we ought to walk as He walked. The ideal may be high, infinitely so, but: we dare not abandon it. I am glad, however, this is not the whole story.

The Son of God Incarnate reveals not only what we ought to be here and now, but also WHAT WE SHALL BE HEREAFTER, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be," No, you have never seen. a Christian who is all that he ought to be. We know that, if we know anything. But here is something else we know: "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2). Almost unbelievable, but true! We shall be like Him, the Lord of Glory. Let us lay hold of the promise and remember, as someone used to say, "If we expect to he like Him. up there, we ought to begin to look a little like Him down. here and now."
Sometimes we get utterly discouraged with humanity as we see it in this present evil world, even with those who profess to be followers of Christ, and worst of all, discouraged with ourselves. What failures we are, all of us. Whenever I get to looking too much at myself, and get discouraged with the situation, there is a passage in the second chapter of Hebrews to which I resort. In verse six the writer begins with a query that shows he understands my frame of mind "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" Then he goes back to the original purpose of God and draws a wonderful picture of man as the Crown and Lord of creation. But look at him now - is what we feel like saying. The Holy Spirit puts the thought in kinder words: "But now," He says, "we see not yet all things put under him." How true. With all our boasted progress, not much has been accomplished. And how often we see our painful gains swept away in a moment of time. We wonder, we get discouraged. But here is God's great antidote for all discouragement (v. 9): "BUT WE SEE JESUS. . .CROWNED WITH GLORY HONOR." And He, the Man Christ Jesus enthroned in the heavens, is the earnest and guarantee of what we shall be. Let us keep our eyes steadfastly on Him, and the vision will not only sweep away all our discouragement, but will change us more and more into the image of what we shall be some day, by His grace. The Ideal is beyond our power, yes, but not beyond the power of Him who sits upon the Throne of Grace.