For the past year, each issue of Modern Reformation has followed the theme, “The Story of God’s People.” We began by retelling the stories of key characters in the Old Testament, showing how their individual stories pointed forward to the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Then we explored key moments in the life of Jesus and showed how those key moments become part of our shared life in Christ: the beginning of our spiritual life when our sins are exchanged for the righteousness of Christ (July/August); the resurrection power and hope that allows us to participate even now in the heavenly life of God (March/April); Christ’s heavenly reign by his ascension that gives our life purpose and direction (May/June); and, most recently, the anticipation of the life to come in the new heavens and new earth that drives us forward in mission and ministry today (September/October). Hopefully, by now, you have seen the marvelous truth that in Jesus, God has retold all of our stories: Jesus is the second Adam, the true Israel, the faithful Son, and in him our lives find meaning and fulfillment.
Now, with this last issue of the year we conclude the series, but it seems oddly out of place. After all, the Christmas story centers on the beginning of Jesus’ life: the eternal Son of God takes on human flesh and is born of a virgin, with humble shepherds the only witness to God’s intrusion into human history. Even though this story of beginnings doesn’t quite fit the narrative arc of our own lives, it is central to who we are now and what will become of us in the new creation. First, because God took on human flesh and drew near to us in the person of his Son, we must recognize the value and dignity of our humanity. Second, because Jesus ascended bodily into heaven and sits at God’s right hand in the flesh, we can have confidence that our full humanity and personhood is destined for restoration and recreation in the new heavens and the new earth. To put it another way, the incarnation of the Son of God—the beginning of Jesus’ story—gives us confidence that each of our stories will reach its happy conclusion.
We’re honored once again to feature an amazing line-up of authors to teach us about the incarnation. We’d love to hear from you as you work your way through this issue. Let us know what you think via twitter.com/modref or at Facebook.com/modrefsocial.
In just a few short weeks, we kick off our 25th Anniversary Year! As part of our celebration, we have partnered with Hendrickson Publishers to produce a new book, The Reformation Then and Now: 25 Years of Modern Reformation Articles Celebrating 500 Years of the Reformation, which will be released in January 2017. We’re grateful to God for sustaining us as a voice for confessing Protestants for the last quarter century. We’re also grateful to you, our subscribers and partners, who give us opportunities to spread our work here and overseas by your gifts and subscriptions. If you would like to give a Christmas gift subscription to a friend or colleague, please visit modernreformation.org/gift for all our latest offers.
Eric Landry executive editor
