John 1:10 (NIV): “He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.”

Had we lived during the time of Jesus’ birth and earthly ministry, would we have recognized Him for who He truly is? From a purely natural perspective, the Bible describes Jesus as quite ordinary in appearance. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, they had to ask Him to identify Himself standing amidst His disciples. However, there were those who encountered Jesus and recognized Him as the Messiah, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). Many experienced Him as their healer, restorer and life-giver. He showed mercy and kindness where others showed cruelty, condemnation, and rejection. He represented the good, generous, compassionate nature of His Heavenly Father to those who seemed most undeserving. And He treated those who esteemed themselves higher than others with severity and contempt. To recognise the Person of Jesus is to know Him through experience as the Word describes Him to be. Take a moment to think about Who He is to you, and Who you know Him to be. He’s no longer a baby in a manger, a broken body on a wooden cross, or even a man in a tomb. This Christmas, choose to see Him as He is right now. He is a risen Saviour, full of glory and victorious over death itself! He alone is worthy of all our worship and honour. And when we see Him as He is, we are invited to have His life; peace; joy; and victory as our own!