What a come down!

The church calendar rightly highlights important aspects of Christ's work in the world: His atoning sacrifice at Good Friday, His resurrection on Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost. These are vital to the life of the Christian and of the Church. But this season is Advent, and we are tempted to skate right past this particular aspect of His great work.
Condescension, the coming down to our level. His scandalous act that some branches of the church could never embrace, breaking off rather than bending to the story as it is found. God became a man. As Paul the Apostle puts it, "He made himself nothing." (Php 2:7) In order to take our place it was required of Him to be put in our place.
No, that's wrong. He wasn't put here; He put himself here with us. God moved into our neighborhood. It was a journey He set out on and a destination He chose for himself. Passive voice has no place in the work of Christ. He was not sacrificed, but rather gave himself as a ransom for many. He was not put down, but the royal things He was He set aside, and He came down to be with us.
The other aspects of Christ's work we marvel at from one side. We accept his sacrifice on our behalf. We await our resurrection that will be some how like his. We will be caught up. He do the catching. Ours is the passive voice in so much of this.
Except in this-- we are invited to join him in coming down. Paul says in this same passage that our attitude should be like Christ. Condescension can have an awful tone when we use it among ourselves, but it is so fitting of Him who set down everything that made him God over us, and taking on something else to be found as God right next to us.
This season is Advent, and you are invited to move into the neighborhood.