The Condescension

There is so much symbolism in the story of the birth of Christ. I’ve talked about a lot of it on Good News! before, but there is one thing I’ve never mentioned. Jesus was born in a land situated mostly below sea level. Bethlehem is in the hill country and a little higher, but the river Jordan where the Savior is baptized is the lowest point on earth.

The symbolism here is amazing and so instructive. Jesus Christ, a God who created the world and who is Life and Light and Truth, condescended to be born a mortal being and to experience all the pain and suffering of mortal life. The fact that He descended in birth from the heavenly courts on high to the absolute lowest point in our mortal world underscores that condescension.

Jesus Christ loves us so much he stooped below all things in order to raise us up.