The birth of Jesus is a story about God appearing as flesh. That God became flesh means that flesh is sacred, special and good. Too often we think instinctively of the human body as 'dirty', evil and sinful. However, after God created human flesh he pronounced it as good.

The human brain is a masterpiece. The human heart is a wonderful organ. Indeed, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Therefore, one should take care of the body, ensuring that it is not defiled. We ought to be careful what we put into the body, what comes out of our bodies (utterances) and to what use we put our bodies. We should avoid using harmful products on our bodies or in our bodies.

If flesh is good, then all human beings have worth. There should be no racism or racial prejudice. In the nineteenth century many Europeans openly and subtly claimed that persons of African descent were not humans. And it would be naive to believe that because Barack Obama was elected president of the USA, it means that persons of African origin will be seen as equals to Europeans; or that persons of African ancestry will be more affirming of each other. It is going to take more than that but this is an opportunity to frown on racial prejudice.

A couple years ago, I was attending the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Mutabaruka, poet extraordinaire and featured artiste, made the observation that the concept of the Virgin Birth was invented because the early church fathers perceived sex as dirty and unclean. However, sex is not dirty but part of God's will for the expression of committed love and the continuance of the human race - flesh.

Godly nature

In the birth of Jesus, God was the central character. In fact, in all births God is central. When conception takes place it is a facilitation of God. It is God's prerogative to bless whomever he wishes with children and likewise to withhold it from others as he sees fit.

God appearing as flesh is a re-affirmation that human beings were made in the image of God. All human beings have attributes that are similar to God's; can commune with God and perform acts considered to be of godly nature.

God appearing as flesh means that God is concerned about the affairs of man. He who lived among human beings understands what we are undergoing. He is not immune to our hurts and hardships. The challenges in Jamaica and the world are not outside the purview of God. God wants his children to experience peace and prosperity.

Since God appeared as flesh it has implications for our positions on issues such as abortion, the death penalty and homosexuality. Our positions ought to reflect the reality that God did not think it below his dignity to appear as flesh, therefore, we must have an exalted view of flesh and take our cue on issues of life and death from God who came onto the scene as flesh.

Since God became flesh we must treat all human beings with dignity and fairly. We must pay workers reasonable wages. Workers must treat their employers' business as if it was their own, giving a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.

Let the reality of the miracle of God becoming flesh affect how we treat one another and guide us in how we live our lives daily.

Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of Rebellion to Riot - the Church in nation building.