Read: Genesis 11
"Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:4
On May 6th, 1954, Roger Bannister accomplished what some thought was humanly impossible: he ran a sub-four minute mile. Since that day, only around 1,800 men have achieved such a feat. That may seem like a lot, but given there are millions of runners in the world, only an elite few can beat the four minute mark. As humans, we have limitations. There are certain feats we will never be able to accomplish–no matter how hard we try. One of the most spiritually sobering feats we can never accomplish is appeasing the wrath of a Holy God by human effort alone.
Genesis 11 tells the story of the tower of Babel. Babel, an ancient city in what today is southern Iraq, attempts to build a tower “with its top in the heavens.” At first glance, it may seem like an innocent undertaking. All they wanted to do was simply build a tall tower, right? Actually, the description of the event in Genesis 11 details more than simply trying to attain architectural greatness. The goal was far more spiritual than that. The goal was twofold: ascend to God by human effort and to gather humanity under the banner of a human achievement. Such feats cannot be accomplished by the power of mankind. Given our fallen state, we are incapable and unworthy of ascending to God. Our sin condemns us. Any attempt to do so is futile. In order for us to get to God, God must come to us. And that’s exactly what He did.
The incarnation of Christ is the condescension of our God to the level of mankind, so that God can take man to Himself. At the birth of Christ, heaven came to earth so that God could take those of earth to heaven.
In this season of advent, we do not celebrate the birth of one who is just a boy born in Bethlehem. In this season, we celebrate the birth of the one who saves us from our sin. Furthermore, we celebrate the only one that can truly unite all of humanity, the Son of Man, Immanuel. The citizens of Babel sought to unite all mankind under the umbrella of human achievement and power. Yet, God scattered humanity so that He may bring together a people for Himself from every nation, tongue, and tribe. A people that are not ultimately citizens of any earthly kingdom, but a people that are citizens of heaven; gathered together through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
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Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for condescending to our level so that we may be citizens of heaven. Give us a heart to see others from every nation, tribe, tongue, and race be united to you under the banner of our risen Lord.