This past Friday, I attended Handel's Messiah for the first time in my life. It was at the National Cathedral, which made the setting awe-inspiring, but when the tenor hit the first note as he sang out "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people..." from Isaiah 40, I knew I was in love (with the music, of course =P). It was truly an amazing experience! The entire gospel, set to music and presented in less than 3 hours! I believe that music is the language of the soul. It is one of the many blessings God has bestowed on us to show us His love, both now and through eternity. As the second part began I could not help but wonder what the soloists and choir thought as they sang of Christ's suffering and sacrifice on our behalf (Isaiah 53). Do they know what they are singing? Do they believe it?
Yesterday, at church, we were discussing the two natures of Christ. This led my thoughts back to Messiah and the numerous scripture passages that speak of the reason for Christ's birth. If He did not have to redeem us, He would not have had to take on a human nature. He could have existed as pure diety. I once hear Ravi Zacharias explain Isaiah 9:6 this way: ""For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... Notice the words. He didn’t say the son is born. The son never was born; the son eternally existed..."" He did not need to be born to exist. As humans, we prefer humanity to any other state of being, but that is only because we are finite and cannot truly comprehend the infinite. Christ, who is infinite, was willing to step into time and space to be "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Christ's becoming human was not only a point-in-time occurance, it was an eternity-changing event in every possible way. All who died in Christ (both OT and NT believers) are given eternal life through His one time sacrifice. But this is not the only change. Christ Himself will also be eternally God and man; a constant reminder of His great love for us.
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