Camping is a favorite outdoor activity for many. A vacation time is selected, a campsite chosen and a tent is pitched. Most of us have spent some time in makeshift shelters or at least in our childhood draped bed sheets over furniture on rainy days, creating a fortress against the stormy weather.

The Bible makes references to our bodies as a tabernacle or tent for our spirit. A liberating verse about a tent-body is found in John 1:14, “The word became flesh and lived for a while among us.” Spiros Zodhiates, the author of Was Christ God?, an exposition of John 1:1-18 from the original Greek text, devotes several chapters to the 14^th verse. One chapter is titled, “God Pitches a Tent.”

The verb "lived" (NIV), in verse 14, is translated from the Greek word eskeenoosen which means, “tented.” At just the right time in the history of this earth, The Christ camped among us. God fashioned a tiny infant and entered our world the way we all arrived, born of woman. Then God crawled, toddled, and walked our trails and trials, but without sin.

When the astrologers during the days of Daniel said gods “do not live among men” (2:11), they were so right! Of course, their stone and wooden images held no hope of a heartbeat, much less a helping hand or sympathetic tear. But God desired that his creation receive an accurate image of himself. Until the birth of Jesus, God had partially revealed himself—in a cloud, a fiery pillar, a burning bush, dreams, spoken messages, and from the top of Mount Sinai covered in thick darkness. But none were a total revealing of God’s nature. Not until Jesus came did we have an “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), or as the writer of Hebrews states, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (1:3).

On a long-ago night outside of Bethlehem, there “were shepherds living in the fields.” An angel entered this pastoral scene bringing them good news, and said, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” And when they found the infant he looked like one of our babies. He squinted at bright lights, and when startled by loud noises, he flinched like our newborns.

The baby wasn’t given only to Joseph and Mary. For the angel had said specifically: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” Far too often, we only view God as a giver. Maybe we need to journey to the field and hear the angel speak. Then walk into the town with the wondering shepherds and see again that God is the gift. Those sheep tenders heard the universal message, and they reacted in a personal way. “[They spread the word about what had been told them about this child.”

The King of kings pitched a tent in enemy territory and experienced all our battles. And he has been knocking on canvas doors ever since. He yearns to be in our hearts and on our minds and attached to our souls. Invite him in. He will make himself right at home—because our God has lived in a tent before. 

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