God Comes Close | Advent Reflections
Written by Matt Allen, a Partner at The Paradox Church. Published December of 2019.
The First Gospel
Every December the Advent season begs us slow down, remember and reflect on the nearness of God in coming of Christ. The first proclamation of this coming can be found in the Garden of Eden when God, speaking to the serpent says:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:15, ESV)
This promise comes shortly after Adam and Eve, in the first act of rebellion in human history, disobey God’s command not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.
The Word
Just a few chapters earlier, we get a small peek into the power of God’s Word:
“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”
(Genesis 1:3, ESV)
In a flurry of power, we see God’s Word create the entire world that we’ve come to know. He spoke and stars formed in far corners of the universe. His Word went forth and galaxies burst into existence. Particles formed on a sub-atomic level bringing the fundamental physical forces into balance, holding the universe together like a web. From nothing, our God created everything. His Word was not restricted by time or space. His boundless power didn’t require that he travel to far off worlds in order to create them: simple proclamation of their existence was sufficient. His Word accomplished all that it set out to do and did not return void. Indeed, as God reflected upon His creation, He found it good.
God Comes Close
With all of this power, how gracious is God to meet his children in the garden after they had sinned? Certainly He didn’t need to do so in order to bring his Word to fruition. From a distance, God could have proclaimed his righteous judgment and all that He decreed would have come to pass. Yet, He meets His children in the garden. He draws near. He sweeps in. God comes close.
Throughout the arc of redemptive history, we see God come close to his children. God rescues Noah, calls Abram, saves Isaac, and restores Jacob. He preserves the remnant of His people through Joseph, and frees them from captivity under the leadership of Moses. He gave his people prophets, priests and kings to lead them and communicate His Word. More than anywhere else, however, we see the closeness of God in the coming of Christ. Jesus came close putting flesh on God’s promise:
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
The Word Made Flesh
The opening chapter of John reveals to us that the creating Word in Genesis was Christ himself.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
(John 1:1-5, ESV)
How captivating and beautiful is Christ: Near to his people in creation, sent to His people in flesh for reconciliation, and to return again to make all things new in restoration.
Repentance and Worship
How often I forget the closeness of God in Christ. How often I believe the lie that God’s power keeps Him from sweeping near to me in my sin. Join me this Advent season in repenting of belief in lies that keep us from remembering and believing the goodness of God toward us as His children. May our eyes focus on Christ, the universe-creating, enemy-crushing, God-man who was sent to live perfectly on our behalf and die in our place. In His manger and in his cross may we see the ever present nearness of God, and worship Him with joy and gladness.