The more I ponder the story of Christmas, the more I am in awe of the brilliance and majesty of God. Ok, that sounded really “Sunday School Teacher’s Pet-ish,” but SERIOUSLY, how exceedingly brilliant is the part of the plan unfolded thus far? For the sake of discussion, let’s start toward the beginning of the Bible and consider the Exodus story (you know, Moses, the Hebrew people escaping the bondage of Egypt, wandering in the desert, searching for the Promised Land) from the role of a parent and extrapolate the concept out a billion-fold as we seek to understand an inkling of God.
You have these kids. You love them unconditionally, but…let’s face it, they’re ornery. They kind of know right from wrong, but they aren’t ones to tow the line. You give them everything they need. You give them everything they want. They aren’t happy. They get into a heap of trouble. They make some atrociously bad choices. You try to rescue them, to lead them to a safe place. They still aren’t happy. So you set up 10 hard and fast rules. All about love. Loving you, loving their neighbors. But no dice, still ornery, still getting into a heap of trouble, still choosing to face the consequences of their actions. And no matter what you do, you can’t force them to love you. They have to choose to love you.
It all comes back to love, and you have a plan, a fabulously perfect plan that you can’t wait to reveal, but the kids would go completely bonkers if they understood the extent of your plan. I mean, let’s face it: if they knew too many details of the future, their world would be ROCKED. Big time. But you want them to see the light at the end of the tunnel. To realize they can turn around, ask forgiveness, and cling to a relationship with you. After all, you’ve never stopped loving them, regardless of what they’ve done.
Thousands of years ago, folks listened to prophets and heard scripture, even if they couldn’t read. So you start to tell them what to expect:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” Isaiah 9:6-7But even this, if they understood correctly, would have freaked them out. Because God’s people, well, they begin to look for a King. Not just a regular ruler, but a Mighty God kind of King. And what would that look like? Well, clearly a muscular commander, powerful because of his physical strength, not afraid to slaughter enemies, a super-hero who dresses the part, dependent on no one, possibly riding in on a stately horse to save the day.
But God’s way (“as for God, his way is perfect.” II Samuel 22:31) is certainly (thankfully) different from our way. Turns out the prophecy is fulfilled when He actually sends himself, in the form of a human: His Son to earth. I’d be willing to wager that not too many folks saw that coming. I mean, if you were to think of the exact polar opposite of King…would it not be an infant? Tiny, fragile, vulnerable. Perhaps THE most vulnerable, needy creature of all.
I’ve been listening to this beautiful collection of Christmas music on Chris Tomlin’s “Glory In The Highest” album. One of the songs struck me as particularly powerful as I was pondering this brilliant plan of redemption through love. These lyrics to Winter Snow are written by Audrey Assad:
Could’ve come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forest fire
With the power of Heaven in Your flame
But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the Earth below
Could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we’ve scarred
No, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still, it was small, it was hiddenGod loves us, but never forces us to love Him back. For Christmas, He gave us the greatest gift of all, Himself in the form of a human infant. As I explained last night to the Bug and the Pea, the biggest gifts of all come in the tiniest packages.
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