This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes
and lying in a manger.
Luke 2:12
I've been practicing this song to sing for the Christmas Eve service. After practicing it 4 times a day for 3 weeks straight, a line in the second verse kept coming to me in the middle of everyday moments -
"Did You wrap yourself inside the unexpected
so that we might know that Love would go that far..."*
Every Christmas we contemplate the baby in the manger, born with the barn animals, because there was no room for Him in any inn. Definitely an unexpected place for the Savior of the world, the King of Kings, the Great High Priest to make his appearance. But was there a purpose in this unexpected arrival. Of course. God's language is prophecy, so it's cool that he speaks to us not only in words, but in places, in people, in the monotonous scenery of life around us.
Christ Jesus came into the world, wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a bed of straw. Christ Jesus brought life to the world, wrapped in cloth and lying in a tomb. Did Christ come in such a humble way so we would know where to look for him in the end?
"Did You wrap yourself inside the unexpected
so that we might know that Love would go that far..."
I was struck by the song lyric because it reminded me of the obvious in a newfound way. Love really does go that far. Love comes to the manger to point to the cross. I'm so thankful for God's love for me, that comes to my ordinary life, my monotonous day, and wraps itself around me, sets me Free and forgiven, and treasures me as a gift.
I'm going to start looking for God in the unexpected. I'm going to look up Ezra and see what God has to say. I'm going to look around me in the supermarket to see who could use some encouragement. I'm going to travel 1,600 miles to share His love with women I would never get to share with otherwise.
Why am I always surprised when God does the unexpected...It seems to be His language anyway.
Thank you, Lord, for Christ. Thank you for being You.
Merry Christmas!
*excerpt of song from Francesca Battistelli's, "Born in Me",
I believe originally released for the Music Inspired by the Story album (one of my favorites!)
This is why I speak to them in parables:
Though seeing, they do not see;
Though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Matthew 12:13
Our family recently read the entire set of the Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Obviously the writing is beautiful, but I was astounded by how touched I was by the message. I knew that they were written in order for children to understand the Good News, but sometimes the nuances of the message were so well woven into the story that I would find tears on my face before I understood what I was crying about. C.S. Lewis is, unarguably, a genius storyteller, but the story touches your heart not because of his literary prowess, but because of the redemption inside of the words.
Always winter, but never Christmas...
Can we even imagine? The creatures of Narnia are trapped in a land covered with snow and ice, but it's not the cold and the chill that surrounds them that is so devastating...it's living in a place where joy is forbidden, distrust and shame are dominate, and living in the absence of hope.
Can we imagine? For the children it's basic. Who would ever want to live in a land with perpetual winter, but never any joy of Christmas?
When I first started contemplating this, I considered all those in Haiti and throughout the world trapped in the darkness of false religion. It is true and worthy of contemplation that there really are people in the world lost to Christ because they have been fed lies of a false god. My heart morns for them. In Haiti, the culture of voodoo is evident. The false god has a face, it is, for the most part blatantly recognizable.
Around here, though, in the U.S. our false gods don't have a face. The lies are hidden, maybe difficult to recognize at times, but are just as dark and icy. We're lost in a sea of stuff and activity. We worry about a beautiful tree, perfect presents for our kids, or making sure we fill our calendar with enough celebratory madness to fill the void. And sometimes life just feels like winter. It's dark and cold. It seems the sun will never come out and shine. It holds the edge of loneliness, or sorrow, or bitterness, or pain, or frustration. And instead of turning to Christ, we turn to what is immediately avaiable. For all our decorations and jovial festivities, how often have we lost Christmas itself and settled for winter?
Always Christmas...
But, Christ came to us, and brought Christmas. Praise the Lord!!! Do you know someone who needs to know that real joy and hope are alive and well? Do you need to know it? Christmas is here. Each day. Sing for Joy. Winter may still be around us, but Christmas is IN us. We will never really live in a land of perpetual ice and snow, because God has promised us better in Christ. He brought Christmas to Bethlehem long ago to each and every one of us. He will melt your ice, He lights your darkness.
