Why the Word Became Flesh: Divine Love Dwelling with Creation (Lectio Divina)

“The Word did not become flesh because humanity fell, but because divine love desired to dwell among what it had made.”
~John Duns Scotus

Reflection: Medieval Franciscan philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus believed that Christ’s incarnation was not merely a remedy for the sin and brokenness in the world, but an inevitability from the beginning of creation. He claimed that Christ was not born into the flesh because of the fall of man, but because, from the beginning of time, God wanted to exist in and with his creation. This theory points to the relational nature of God. That is, God does not exist for Godself alone, but in, as, and for the outward pouring of love in and as creation.

Duns Scotus tells us that the embodiment of Christ is the inevitability of God’s love. The Word became flesh to live and dwell with creation, and to fulfill the promise of love by being the beloved. For love does not and cannot exist without someone or something to love. Through the Son, the Father shows us what it means to love in a Godly way.

In Christ’s incarnation, we are shown that divine love is self-giving, self-emptying, self-surrendering, self-denying, and self-sacrificing, even unto death. In the crucifixion, we learn that, to love as Christ, the Word of God, loved us, we must die to ourselves for the sake of the other. This death to self, in, for, and through love, is our redemption, that, through the outward pouring of love, we may be resurrected with Christ in and as the eternal love of the Father.
~Robert Van Valkenburgh

Question for Meditation: Where in your life is God asking you to let go of your selfish, self-centered, and self-serving ways that you may live and die, as Christ did, in love?

Related Scripture: “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14 (NRSV)

For Further Reading: If you found value in this post, you may also enjoy Created in and as Love: Reborn in and as God’s Image