Christmas Hope

Merry Christmas!

It seems that in recent years we have tried to de-celestialize the Christmas story. We see the setting of our Lord's birth in a real way. Instead of halos we see a teen mother in a barn with animals and resulting smells. I think it is essential to see this because God designed it this way. It loses none of the magic but intensifies the message.

God came into a dark world. Not only was the area under Roman rule, but spiritually it was very dark. Bound to a law they could not keep, God's people had resorted to form and hypocrisy. Oppression in the form of religious leaders is a refrain of every age but the one that Christ was birthed into was particularly dark. The law offered no comfort only condemnation. The only comfort to be found was in the rationalization that the law condemned me less than someone else.

Even though the angels never said the word, hope can be found in every word of their message. The central message of the story is love. God loved us this much? God allowing Himself to be made helpless. Angels had been aggressively doing His bidding for millenia. Now a teen girl was cleaning His mess. What great mission was this sacrifice made for? Ultimately is was for you. What a great person you must be!

Yet I am so unworthy! I wish I could do great and amazing things but yet the reality is that I can't even be an especially good Christian. This only intensifies the message of His love. He doesn't require great things from me. He only hopes that I might appreciate His sacrifice of love enough that I love in return.

I have always lived in this world. A world of a loving and gracious God. Maybe I haven't felt His love at every juncture of life, but I knew He loved me. Imagine a world without it. The Jews had a glimpse of God's plan but didn't know even a percentage of the story. They imagined a conquering hero. When God came He would be a true King, a righteous ruler. They couldn't even conceive of a Lord willing to be a baby. Of a God that would allow them to torture and kill Him.

What God gave us that Christmas Day was hope. Hope in a God that loves us beyond reason. Hope in a God that would go to every extreme to secure us. Hope in a God that sees us in our sin and helplessness and responds with empathy. So much love that it causes me to rest in His plan for me.

As you imagine that darkness, enjoy the Light this Christmas.