Eye level to a bulldog

I, the Lord, have called You . . . to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

                                        — Isaiah 42:6-7

My son and his wife have a 120-pound American bulldog with a powerful body and fearsome face. Yet until we became friends, “Buddy” wasn’t sure he could trust me. As long as I was on my feet, he’d keep his distance and wouldn’t look me in the eye. Then one day I learned that if I’d get down on the ground, the mood of Buddy’s big-jowled face would change. Sensing I was no longer a threat, he’d playfully come running like a freight train, pounce on me with his big feet, and want me to scratch his muscular neck.

Maybe what Buddy needed from me is a glimmer of what our God gave us by coming down to our level and living among us in the person of Christ. From the day that our first parents sinned and had from the presence of the Lord, our tendency has bee to be afraid of coming to a high and holy God on His terms (John 3:20).

So, as Isaiah predicted, God showed how low He was willing to go to bring us to Himself. By adopting the form of a lowly servant, our Creator lived and died to disarm our wrongs. Even now He is coaxing us from the cover of our spiritual darkness (Isa. 42:7) to call us friends (John 15:15). How can we still be afraid to trust Him?                — Mart De Haan

Lord, thank You that You stepped out of heaven and came down to this earth, that You clothed Yourself in human flesh. We’re grateful that we can now draw near to You, even though we’re sinful. Amen.

READ: Isaiah 42:1-7

The high and holy One became the meek and lowly One.

The Bible in one year:

• Micah 6-7

• Revelation 13