The apostle John’s account of the Savior’s birth is summarized in this verse: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John is saying that the One was born in the manger was God Himself—God the Son. He was sent by God the Father to be the Savior.

The apostles could say with the deepest emotion: “We beheld His glory!” “What was this glory like?” we would ask. John says it was full of grace and truth. Yes, it was full of miracles. The world has never seen anything like Him raising the dead, walking on the water, or feeding the 5,000. But there was a special glory in the Lord Jesus that only the needy heart can recognize—He was full of grace and truth. We see that the Lord Jesus was full of grace when He forgave the sins of those who came to Him in repentance and faith. One man was so eager to see Jesus that he had his friends take off a portion of the tile roof on the house where Jesus was teaching. The man, who was paralyzed, was let down with ropes right in front of Jesus. The Savior saw his faith and said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5). To know our sins are forgiven is to be ushered into the kingdom of grace. (By the way, Jesus told the paralyzed man to take up his bed and walk—and he did!) Jesus certainly showed His grace when He gave His life on the cross to take away the sins of all those who will trust in Him.

The Son of God was also full of truth. He often told crowds of people the truths that admonish us when we are on the wrong road. He said, “What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what will a man give in exchange for His soul?” We are all headed for eternity and only the Lord Jesus can bring us to God. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6). He was full of truth because He is the Truth. What a blessed truth He declared in John 10:10—“I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly!”

This is the meaning of Christmas—that the Savior came to fill our lives with His grace and truth. When we receive His grace and truth we can say that we also have beheld His glory shining into our lives. The Son of God is the invisible rock that upholds all of reality. We are thankful that His grace and truth are welcome realities. He welcomes us to come to Him. He says to us today, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). May this rest in His redemption be our greatest joy at Christmas and always!