Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love the season of Advent, and the reminder of the hope we have that God would come to earth as a human in order to redeem humans. Or as C.S. Lewis once put it, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”  We are now united with Christ by grace through faith – all of which is only possible because of the Incarnation of Christ.

But one of the things that tends to be overlooked in terms of Christ’s humanity is that he was also a teenager.  Have you ever thought about that? We tend to either view Jesus as a fetus in the womb or an infant in a manger or a man on a cross, but let us not forget he was also an adolescent in puberty.

In a day and age, when teenagers (and the concept of Millennials) are seen as entitled burdens to society in many ways, it is important to remember that God places a high value on this stage of life.  It is one that He went through himself.  Could you picture the same God that breathed galaxies into existence having an acne problem, a changing voice, or dealing with all the awkwardness that comes with teenage years?

Do you think Jesus had to deal with the drama of friendships? With being tempted by things like lust or cheating or gossip or taking the easy way out or reacting in a hateful way?  Do you think Jesus was ever tempted to be lazy or not work like he should? Do you think he was ever tempted to be disrespectful to his parents?

It would be pretty difficult for me to not mouth off to my parents if  I knew I was GOD.  I mean some teenagers seem to think they’re God sometimes…but he really was! Could you imagine the temptation to say to his step dad, “Why should I listen to you, Joseph?  You know I am the Creator of the Universe, right? I literally made YOU.” Or could you imagine Mary looking at Jesus and saying (like some of your parents have said to you) “Jesus, were you born in a barn!?” And then him responding with, “Well yeah actually I kinda was, mom…remember?”

But Hebrews 4 tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way we are yet without sin.  He experienced what teenagers experience. And what an awesome thought that God isn’t distant from adolescent struggles.  He doesn’t write them off and treat their problems as if they don’t really matter because they’re not a ‘real’ adult yet.  He doesn’t look down on them and say, “You think this is difficult, just wait until you have REAL issues that adults have to deal with.”  No!  The God of the Universe is intimately acquainted with their situation.  He decided to get first-hand experiential knowledge of what it is like to be in a teenager’s shoes.  And he lived the life they (and we) should have lived, died the death they (and we) deserve to die, and rose to give them (and us) eternal life.

So this Christmas season, I challenge you to take a different approach to your though process about the Incarnation.  Think on God the teenager.  Jesus the juvenile.  The Lord who created hormones, having to deal with them, too.  God Almighty went through puberty on our behalf, so that in puberty – as in all things – we might experience his redeeming grace.

That is Good News of Great Joy for ALL the people…even teenagers!