{"id":241120,"date":"2025-12-23T12:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T18:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/?p=241120"},"modified":"2025-12-23T12:14:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T18:14:03","slug":"when-god-broke-the-silence-rediscovering-the-incarnation-at-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/when-god-broke-the-silence-rediscovering-the-incarnation-at-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"When God Broke the Silence: Rediscovering the Incarnation at Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u00c9crit par David Wheeler, Legacy Coalition Pastor's Division<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The holidays are usually marked by noise and chaos: little ones running around with screams of delight\u2026lots of music\u2026conversations around dinner tables\u2026football games blaring on the TV\u2026etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSilence\u201d isn\u2019t a word we resonate with during the holiday season, unless we hear the song \u201cSilent Night\u201d playing at the mall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, decades ago, I read an article that impacted me powerfully concerning the Incarnation.&nbsp;I couldn\u2019t remember the title, and I\u2019ve searched for it frequently over the years with no results. Today, I found it\u2026just in time for this blog article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The title is \u201cThe Long Silence.\u201d&nbsp;The author is apparently anonymous.&nbsp;I wish I could thank her\/him for this fresh insight into the arrival of our Savior into this fallen world. I\u2019ve made a few minor changes to fit the culture in which we currently live.&nbsp; Here it is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God\u2019s throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them.&nbsp;But some groups near the front talked heatedly \u2013 not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cHow can God judge us? How can he know about suffering?\u201d<\/em> snapped an older woman. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. <em>\u201cWe endured terror\u2026beatings\u2026torture\u2026death!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In another group, a black man lowered his collar. <em>\u201cWhat about this?\u201d<\/em> he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. <em>\u201cLynched\u2026for no crime but being black!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In another crowd, a pregnant young girl with sullen eyes stepped forward. <em>\u201cWhy should I suffer?\u201d<\/em> she murmured, <em>\u201cHe took advantage of me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Far out across the plain, there were many such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering He permitted in His world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cHow lucky God was,\u201d<\/em> they seemed to say, <em>\u201cto live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred.\u201d<\/em> What did God know of all that humans had been forced to endure in this world? <em>\u201cGod leads a pretty sheltered life\u201d<\/em>, they said.&nbsp;<em>\u201cWhat right does He have to evaluate our lives?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So each of these groups sent forth its leader, chosen because he or she had suffered most. A Jew, a black man, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic, a child who was a victim of human trafficking, and several others. In the center of the plain, they consulted with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At last, they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before God could be qualified to be their judge, He must endure what they had endured. They decided that God should be sentenced to live on earth as a human man!&nbsp;One by one, they proclaimed their conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u201cLet him be born into a poor, conquered country and into a despised minority group\u2026perhaps a Jew.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let him lose a parent early in life.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let his motives be misunderstood.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let him experience extreme temptations and deprivation.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let him be betrayed by his closest friends.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury, and convicted by a cowardly judge.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Let him be tortured horribly.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cAt the last, let him experience what it means to be so terribly alone. Then let him die painfully. Let him die so violently that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify his death.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence.&nbsp;Slowly, smug smiles disappeared.&nbsp;No one uttered another word. No one moved\u2026except for heads bowing in shame.&nbsp;For suddenly, all knew the staggering truth:&nbsp;<strong>that God had already served His sentence.<\/strong>\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The word \u201cIncarnation\u201d means \u201cGod is with us.\u201d&nbsp;I remember a statement by Jill Briscoe:&nbsp;<em>\u201cIn the garden, Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit.&nbsp;And in heaven, Jesus began making preparations to depart for Bethlehem.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He arrived into the noisy, crowded town of Bethlehem and took up residence in our midst.&nbsp;(John 1:14) It\u2019s very doubtful that it was a \u201csilent\u201d night. Francis Schaeffer had a great title for one of his books:&nbsp;\u201cHe Is There and He Is Not Silent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bible clearly records that since the dawn of creation, God has been communicating. Hebrews 1: 1-2 informs us that <em>\u201cIn the past God spoke\u2026through the prophets\u2026but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son\u2026\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At great cost, God entered time and space to proclaim: <em>\u201cI am fully aware of the suffering you experience on this sin-sick, fallen planet.&nbsp;And I care deeply.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, at Christmas we celebrate that \u201cGod so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.&nbsp; For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.\u201d (John 3:16-17)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t stay silent about this good news. Go tell it on the mountain\u2026or at Christmas dinner with your grandkids!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So, at Christmas we celebrate that \u201cGod so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u00a0 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.\u201d (John 3:16-17)<\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":241123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-generational-living"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/When-God-Broke-the-Silence.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241124,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241120\/revisions\/241124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legacycoalition.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}