There’s a line in the hymn “In Christ Alone” that I don’t think gets enough appreciation…
“In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe…”
Once upon a time our salvation was hanging in the balance by a baby. Have you ever considered that? The Savior who died on the cross for us was a man of tremendous talent and ability, and had the full power of God at His disposal, not to mention all the mental faculties that come with adulthood. He could think and reason and deduce, he could surmise and grasp and intuit.
But what about when He was a baby? What could He do? Nothing, He was a baby! That’s the whole point: He came to live a full human life, and that includes that part of the human experience where you’re pooping your pants and crying all the time. Jesus lived that part of life, as well. He lived a life that, for a while, was entirely dependent on the help and care of others.
That’s not to discount the providence of God and the protection of the Angels, but just to keep things on the human level, can you appreciate the amount of trust the pre-incarnate person of God had to have to willingly come to earth, not as a powerful King, but as a newborn infant, wholly reliant on someone else to feed, clothe, and shelter Him? It’s an amazing illustration of the faithfulness that God saw in Mary, knowing He would commit the care of His only-begotten Son to her, while He would be—not just a man—but a “helpless baby.”
~ Matthew