Jesus was God incarnated among us. He lived a simple life, learned a common trade and spoke a human language. He toiled with his hands to provide for his mother and brothers. He was in his culture. He was fully divine, yet he did not allow his divine rights or prerogatives to overwhelm how he related to ordinary human beings. He did life. He sanctified the ordinary. 

He did not live from one spiritual high to the next. He suffered, experienced frustration, endured hardship, and waited for the right way and the right time to fulfil the will of his father in heaven. He lived purposefully but in the context of ordinary work and family and fun. He lived life intentionally. He validated ordinary life to sanctity ordinary life for the rest of us. He lived an integrated type of spirituality.

The incarnation is absolutely fundamental to understanding our mission in the world. Not just the mission of the 'missionaries' but all of us. All of us who obediently follow Jesus are on mission with God. We can all draw inspiration and wisdom from how Jesus came, lived, worked and reproduced his life in others. The incarnation allowed Jesus to identify with people. It provided a way to localise and live out his calling. He made God available in His neighbourhood. By living in the culture he affirmed the worth of that culture but then set new standards within that culture. He was setting up a counter culture called the 'kingdom of God'. We are called to follow his example and live a life that does not compromise the message of the gospel. We have to be counter culture.
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