Preparing for corporate worship: God became man (3)

The significance of the incarnation is clear in the apostle John's writings in the New Testament. He points to it quickly in both his gospel account and his first letter. For instance, he writes in John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." In I John 1:1-2, the apostle says, "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us." Christ is the Word. He became flesh in the person of Jesus. In doing so, He manifested God the Father. We will gather this Sunday to worship God because of this truth: God the Son became a man to bring us to the Father, to make us true worshipers. May the centrality of this act -- God becoming a man both to live and die as a substitute for sinners and reconcile them to the Holy Judge -- inform and enliven our corporate worship. It calls for humble gratitude and deep-seated passion as we approach our great God this Lord's Day.