He Came for Friendship

And so in these last times the Lord has restored us to His friendship by His Incarnation. -Irenaeus, Against the Heresies (c. A.D. 180) The wonder is not only that He came to us but also that He came for friendship. God the eternal Son came to us in the conception of the holy child Jesus in the womb of the virgin Mary. From afar, He came - from the heights of heaven, from the "realms of glory," from the bosom of the Father where eternally He lies embracing and being embraced in love. Close to...