Within each human body, there is a person… You don’t need an advanced degree in biology, psychology, or philosophy to know that – but have you given it much thought??

Adam and Eve were made from scratch, with a system designed whereby the union of the two would produce another whole person, albeit in miniature, dependent, and not yet ‘programmed’ for the language & culture he or she would be joining.  Though the process might seem random, any parent who has at least two children will testify that identical origins don’t necessarily produce identical results.  Each child shows up with their own way of seeing the world and processing information.  One may get their greatest joy out of creating, while the other finds fulfillment in exploring what already exists, even if that includes deconstruction (sometimes, especially deconstruction).

Where does this element, that goes by names like personality, soul, and character, come from?  Again, parents can attest that they often find themselves baffled by the fact that their child sees the world with a completely different mindset than their own.  This suggests that the personality aspect isn’t inherited, but rather is given from somewhere, or Someone, else.   This really is the only rational answer, especially when you consider that twins born with the exact same recipe of DNA will react to and process the same input in different ways.

I’d rather not wander too far into the nature & nurture debate.  I’ll just trust I’ve made my point that the person who lives inside the skin is not necessarily a compilation of the parents, at least at first.  The opinions and perspectives we train into our children and those they pick up from others is a different matter.

With this, we turn to the one exception, the most astonishing and controversial human ever born – Jesus.  Some are content to go with the simple biblical answer: God became flesh and dwelt among us.  This will be just as valid an answer at the end of this article as it always has been.   Others, like me, prefer to delve and explore, with attempts at finding an explanation, or at least a definition.  Here goes….

In biology class, we learn that one cell enters another cell and begins the paradoxical process of multiplication by division.  In fertilization, the two become one, then explode into two, then four, then sixteen…you get the idea, and you can do your own exponential math.  This is what we refer to as conception….and yet, if we look to some of the biblical accounts, whole lives are conceived in the mind of God before they take their forms within the bodies of their mothers.

• Psalm 139:13-16 (David) –  You formed me in the womb, and knew all my days before any of them occurred (paraphrased).
• Jeremiah 1:5 – Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
• Genesis 25:22-23 (Rebekah) – Twins at battle before birth who would become two nations, the elder serving the younger.
• Luke 1:13-17 – Thou shalt call his name John…he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
• Matt 1:21 – Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

In looking at the conversation between Mary and Gabriel as recorded in Luke, Mary is told that the Spirit of God will overshadow her….which recalls the scripture in Genesis where the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters of a formless Earth.  The invisible mind and spirit that is God, who created the world and natural processes, sparked the fertilization paradox in a young woman’s ovum, and the natural order of things went on naturally until the invisible God became visible in the form of a human infant.

He grew up according to the human schedule, yet with the eternal soul…he opened human eyes to see a little corner of the world from a very new perspective…he limited his movements to the location, range, and pace that human legs afforded him…he limited his expressions to the language and customs of the culture around him…he limited his activities to those that could be accomplished within the energy and resources available to a human of his age…. until the time appointed.

The eternal God experienced hunger, fatigue, frustration, loss… and I honestly believe He had a few encounters with splinters and hammers hitting the wrong nail in the carpenter’s shop.  He addressed each of these in a way consistent with His personality, the same One that sought out Adam & Eve, instructed Noah, made a covenant with Abraham, promoted Joseph, led Moses, ordained David, strengthened Nehemiah, answered Elijah, commissioned Isaiah, humbled Nebuchadnezzar, and gave inside information to Daniel.  That’s the personality that showed up and watched the world through the eyes of a child and the ears of a young man…the One who honored women, spoke up for the defenseless, fed the hungry, healed the sick, challenged the status quo, and sacrificed the body He lived in to redeem us, body and soul.  (Then He restored & reentered that body, because He’s into restoration.)

Mechanically, I have no trouble with the incarnation – personality, form, and all…  He simply whispered Himself into the biological process (minus a sperm donor) just as He whispers the unique souls into the forming body of each child.   Philosophically, the idea that the Creator chose to endure diapers & toddler steps blows my mind.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

–Isaiah 9:6-7

Meanwhile, every child was designed and placed within their time and community with care.  They have their strengths and quirks and joys. Some aspects of the world they explore will spark an interest that could grow into a firestorm of creativity.  Nurture that, and teach them to manage their own boundaries so they don’t snuff out the flame of another.  This is what it is to train a child in the way s/he should go – the blessed exploration of this person who never existed before, and will be themselves forever.

Enjoy unwrapping the unique gifts that are the children around you – their spirits are a special delivery from the whisper of God.

Merry Christmas.