Isn't it amazing that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would come into this world that He created, born a baby in a humble stall to working-class parents who had to flee from an evil ruler? Isn't it even more astonishing that this King, knowing who He was in the ranking of the universe, would walk with the common people speaking to them and teaching in terms that they would understand--seeds, fish, lamps, coins, pearls, birds. He used parables to appeal to our thought processes. Surely He did see some beauty in this world He created, and in the creatures smallest to greatest that inhabit it. He looked through loving eyes and gave His life to claim a bride from this world.

Slummin' (or slumming) is a term used for voluntarily visiting, interacting, and participating in the lives of people below one's social or economic level. It is, in effect, what Jesus did when He stepped into time and took on the form of man. He came down to our level and made His way so clear that farmers and fishermen, housewives and tax collectors, physicians and teachers, and even children, could understand. He did not speak in the lofty language of heaven, but in the course words of the daily lives of those who would hear. And to those who responded, and those who respond still, He gave truth and eternal life.

And this indeed becomes a "Cinderella story" for those who choose Jesus, for those who accept His proposal and become the Bride of Christ, for "if we endure, we will also reign with Him" (II Timothy 2:12). I remember a song we used to sing:

Why would a King leave His throne and His crown
To come to earth as a stranger?
And why would He leave the safety of heaven
In exchange for all earthly danger?
It is more than the mind can conceive,
Yet somehow in my heart I believe,

More than the crown, more than the throne,
More than the heavens that He called home,
More than all of these, He loved you and me,
And He left it all, because He loved us more.

God's only Son became Son of Man
Bringing the plan of salvation.
The great Lamb of God gave His life for a ransom
To buy redemption for all generations.
Because of His love for a world that was lost,
He chose to suffer the shame of the cross.

More than the crown, more than the throne,
More than the heavens that He called home,
More than all of these, He loved you and me,
And He left it all, because He loved us more.    ---from Praisin' Live

Thank You, Jesus, that "You stoop down to make me great" (II Samuel 22:36). Amen