The child has been born.
The angels have proclaimed the coming of good news and joy.
The Shepherds have seen with their own eyes the great sight that was proclaimed to them.
Now, it is our turn. What will we do with at Christmas? My prayer this Christmas as that we would turn Christ. That we would turn to Christ and live lives worthy of the Gospel message that he proclaimed.
Merry Christmas!
Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favorite Christmas movies. The adaptation made in 1994 is particularly good. In the movie there is a scene where a young deaf girl comes to see Santa Clause. The girls mother explains that she can not hear. She just wanted to see him.
Then the unexpected happens. Santa comes into her world. He enters into her world and reminds her that she is not alone. This simple act is more than just kindness. It truly is grace personified. I love this scene because not only is the little girl blessed, but so is her mother, who just wanted to make her daughters life a little bit happier. A little bit more joyful.
This is what Christmas is all about. It is the reminder that God has entered into our frailty and made us feel less alone.
Remember this Christmas that you are not alone in the world. God has come down and has become like you and me so that we may know joy. Now and forever.
[vodpod id=Video.15861959&w=600&h=400&fv=file%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fspencerbott.com%252Fvideo_file%252F14255499341%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9%26amp%3Borientation%3Dlandscape%26amp%3Bposter%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.tumblr.com%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9_r1_frame1.jpg%2Chttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.tumblr.com%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9_r1_frame2.jpg%2Chttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.tumblr.com%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9_r1_frame3.jpg%2Chttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.tumblr.com%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9_r1_frame4.jpg%2Chttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.tumblr.com%252Ftumblr_lw8ic3lRsV1r32xz9_r1_frame5.jpg]6For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV)
This may very well be one of the most astounding prophecies that Jesus fulfilled by his birth. It reveals so much of what the Christ Child would accomplish for all those that would put their trust in him.
Here in the form of a small, defenseless and humble child the Redeemer of the world stepped into the limited from the eternal. In the hands of a young, faithful maiden was held the hope of the not just the faithful, but of the cosmos itself. In the company of beasts of labor and livestock the King of kings was born.
Jesus was born in a lowly place, not so he could learn humility, but so that the humble would not fear approaching him.
Jesus, the baby, was given to us so that we could, if we would, find the hope and solace our hearts and souls long for.
But, what really astounds is the last line of this passage. Look at it again. Notice the “who” and the “why” of this event. Who will do this? “The Lord of hosts will do this.” The birth of Jesus was not relegated to the hands of angels. It was not entrusted into the feeble hands of broken humanity. No, God himself, concocted and executed the greatest scandal ever perpetrated in the universe!
If you do not believe that the birth of Christ is a scandal, you must read the stories again.
This is a scandal. We have grown so used to it that we have made it seem so normal. And it was all God’s idea.
If the fact that God made this event take place is not enough, the way in which God did it just as unbelievable. Isaiah says that it was “with zeal” that God was going to do it. With zeal? God enjoyed doing what he did. While that is not completely surprising it is surprising. God took pleasure and delighted in sending His son into the world. God was not unhappy or saddened by the Son’s departure from heaven into the world of men. No, the Father sent him with “zeal”.
There are so many miracles taking place in the birth of Jesus. What makes this entire event and the circumstances that surround even more spectacular is that God was not only behind it, God was pleased by His role in the whole thing.
The sun will rise on Christmas morning and we will be challenged once again to consider not only if we have accepted the man that this baby would become. That would be too short sighted a view of Christmas. We will be confronted with whether we, like our Heavenly Father have enjoyed and delighted in the coming of the Son of God.
