“…and so God did not send Jesus as a king, or as a benefactor; He did not use CNN, or ‘Independence Day’: He chose a different way. A slow, gracious, but dangerous, difficult way. He incarnated into our reality, and he dwelled among us.” -Oscar Muriu, Urbana 2009
The meaning of Christmas has come home to me more than ever before this year. It has hit me in a whole new, amazing way. It is a story that shows such incredible love. God wanted to have a relationship with us that much. For Jesus, it involved giving up all the glories of Heaven. Imagine that! Angels bowed before him– he was in a sinless, perfect place, surrounded by glories we can’t even imagine. And he willingly gave all that up. For what? To come to earth as a mighty warrior, born into riches and wealth as he deserved? No. He was born not to a rich family, not to a middle class family, but to a poor family. He was not even born in a house. He was born in a stable, and laid in a manger, where animals fed. That was his welcome to this world. It is hard to imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt, knowing who this baby was, and what he deserved– he deserved the very best– and he received a stable, and a manger, and swaddling clothes. The contrast is incredible. But Jesus did not come the way most people expected him to, as a warrior, as a prince, as a mighty man. He did not come to be served, “but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for all.” That’s how much he loved us. And instead of lamenting the circumstances into which he was born, there was rejoicing because he had come. God desired reconciliation with us– He desired relationship with us– and now, the way for that to take place had come to this earth. Jesus was here, Immanuel, “God with us.” It was so wonderful that he shared it with us– in the angels who appeared to the shepherds, in the star that the Magi followed. He was greeted by regular people and by princes. This baby, this baby was no ordinary baby.
It gives a whole different perspective to think about God the father, as well. To think about His love in sending Jesus to us. The awful pain, knowing what Jesus must go through– the incredible love– the great joy, knowing that through Jesus, we would be reconciled. It is so amazing to think about that moment– how God must have desired reconciliation with us– and how Jesus was born into our world, and God knew that through him, at long last it would be accomplished. And at that moment, there was joy. Knowing what Jesus had come to accomplish, and that it would be accomplished soon. It was such exquisite joy He shared it with us, in the heavenly hosts. Wow!
Jesus grew up here, again, with a family that was neither rich nor high-born. He worked with his father Joseph in carpentry and lived and walked and felt all that the people around him lived and walked and felt. God incarnated into our reality, so that He understands our reality in an incredible way. Jesus walked faithfully the road all the way to the cross. And he bled and suffered and died. Then he rose again on the third day, and ascended into Heaven. It was finished.
That’s what Christmas means. It is a special remembrance of God’s gift to us. His incredible gift of love– His son. It is a celebration of that exquisite joy. ”Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” -Corinthians 9:15
