Our understanding of the way you work, Lord,
Is coloured by the culture of our time.
Yet, still, we find a resonance in the ancient
Prophecies made in their culture and time.

The interpretation of language
Is a delicate balancing act
To render ideas truthfully
And yet not to lose the poetry.

This word, so specific for that time
Became a timeless, divine, promise
Of a powerful action by a Loving God,
To be realised, wonderfully, in a later generation.

The nature of the promised action
Has caused us, all, much perplexion
Some dismiss 'magic' implausibility
Some wonder at the divine 'simplicity'!

And yet, in Christ, we find the fulfilment
Of those ancient words.
And finding, for ourselves, we know
The presence of the incarnate Lord.

Is there, in some way, Lord, a sense in which
We all, as Christians, are "set apart"?
Do we, each of us, have a particular
'Mission in life' which is unique to us?

How, then, can we 'ordinary' folk give
Effective expression to the Gospel
Which, we hope and pray, is the basis
For our daily living, however humble?

For not many of us are mighty in speech
Nor can most perform great deeds.
But we can do 'what seems right'
And love and care for those whom we contact.

We can know and we can tell that
We "are loved by God and called to be His people"
We, too, can show the Grace and Peace that
Alone "comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ".

How can we come to understand your behaviour, Lord? We have this strange mixture, in our scriptures, of intimate interest in the very personal, and, from our experience of the every day, of infinite distancing! Yet there is a sense in which some of our thinking is truly inspired by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit at the most personal level!
Your provision for us, in the physical world - and we ARE part of that physical of that physical world, is quite awesome! There all we can do is take advantage of and use the provision that you have made. This has nothing to do with faith or belief - it just is The faith comes in our identifying the provision with you. Your provision for us, in Christ, is also quite awesome! Here we are intimately bound with the need for faith to make that provision effective! The feature here which is so difficult to comprehend is, as Charles Wesley wrote "Our God contracted to a span" Thus faith has to illuminate understanding in order to bring about the personal realisation of "Emmanuel - god with us."