May 7

My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, — Gal 4:19 BSB

It’s a blessed moment when we are born again, when a new heart is created in us after God’s image. But it’s an even more blessed moment when Christ Himself is born in this new heart. It’s as if Christmas happens within us, and we become, in a real sense, living reflections of Christ.

This is the deepest and holiest meaning of Christianity. It is expressed in Paul’s prayer for the Galatians: "My little children, for whom I labor again in birth until Christ is formed in you."

There will come an even more glorious time when we will be transformed into His likeness—spirit, soul, and body—in the resurrection.

Let us live, under this inspiring thought, as incarnations of Christ—living His life, not ours. Let our lives show forth the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Let the world see Christ in us, as He would have lived had He been here.