What do you think it was like? You know, before Jesus left his heavenly throne outside of time and space to be Emmanuel—God With Us, confined in time and space? We can only speculate. But still… don’t you kind of wonder what it was like before an eternal God humbled himself and entered humanity? Can you imagine the conversation between Father and Son?

F: “Are you ready, Son?”

S: “We promised them eternal life before the beginning of time, and we don’t lie” (Titus 1:2).

F: “You ARE God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, and One with me” (Nicene Creed).

S: “It’s the only way, Father. No man can redeem the life of another (Psalm 49:7). We told them to be perfect as you are perfect (Matthew 5:48). And yet, they all have sinned” (Romans 3:23).

F: “Even though all things were made through you, for them and for their salvation you will be made nothing. You will take the very nature of a servant and be made in human likeness” (Nicene Creed and Philippians 2:7).

S: “Since your children have flesh and blood I too will share in their humanity so that by my death I might destroy the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For this reason, I have to be made like my brothers in every way that I might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14-17).

F: “You will suffer when you are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

S: “I will be able to sympathize with their weaknesses because I will be tempted in every way just as they are—yet I am without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

F: “You will be despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isaiah 53:3).

S: “I will be pierced for their transgressions and crushed for their iniquities and they will all turn away from me” (Isaiah 53: 5-7). Even you, my God will turn away from me. Even you will be far from my groaning” (Psalm 22:1).

F: “Son, I will make YOU, who have no sin to be sin for them, so that in YOU… they might become MY righteousness” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

S: “And Father, I will tell them that it is your will that everyone who looks to me and believes in me will have eternal life” (John 6:40).

F: “I so love the world, that I am giving you, my one and only son, that whoever believes in you will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Are you ready?

S: “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).

F: “The time has fully come. I send you, my Son, to be born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that they might receive the full rights of son” (Galatians 4:4-5).

And in a quiet, simple, private moment a baby was born. And my world changed forever.

My heart swells with wonder as I consider a God who knew everything he would endure and still chose that path for me.

All of sudden my late nights, long to-do list, attempts to create the “perfect” Christmas, and “sacrifices” for others at home, church, and work don’t seem so remarkable. Instead, my mind shifts to the amazing gift of Jesus and the opportunities I have to share him with others.

Quietly. Simply. Privately. Knowing Jesus will change their lives forever.