When looking for that one, perfect Scripture passage to focus on for Christmas, most people usually settle upon one of the nativity stories from Matthew or Luke’s Gospel. We all love Linus’ wonderfully prolonged soliloquy in the “Charlie Brown” Christmas special as he recites the angel’s announcement to the shepherds about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

But it’s certainly not practical for us to memorize the first two chapters of Matthew or Luke so that we can reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas while we’re in the car, waiting in line somewhere, or scarfing down a quick lunch at our desks. But there happens to be, from the first Chapter of John, a very short, single-sentence passage that describes quite succinctly, all the wonder, awe, joy and comfort that is Christmas.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

There it is—a mere fragment of a verse—a thought so simple and concise we can memorize it in a moment or two. A truth so easy to remember, we can bring it to mind at any time, whether we are baking cookies or burying a loved one.

God didn’t just come to us in Spirit. He actually put on our flesh and humbled Himself to become as delicate and vulnerable as we are—to endure every trial and tragedy that we endure—to accomplish on earth the one and only thing he was not capable of accomplishing in heaven—dying for us.

The magnificent message of Christmas is that God—the creator of the entire universe—loves us so much, even in our most sinful nature, that he put the comforts of heaven aside and put the protection of omnipotence on hold. Instead of reaching down to us, He came down to us. God became human. The very Word of God became flesh so that he could dwell among us … to teach us … to laugh and cry with us … to heal us … to be crucified and die for us … and to conquer death for us by rising to eternal life.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

If you stop and try to fathom that reality for a few seconds … how can you not rejoice?