| Gifts stuffed inside of bags from numerous successful shopping trips waiting to be wrapped. Abandoned laundry taking a back seat while I finish last minute “to-do” list items. A dishwasher of clean dishes waiting to be emptied–for now I just keep using and washing the same plate, fork and glass. (Am I still in college?!?!) Another trip to the grocery store because I didn’t look at the recipe for the appetizer I’m brining to the party tonight. Cards that will be “Happy New Year!” instead of “Merry Christmas!” The list could go on, and it does, and I am sure you have your own, sunshine. (Amid all of your own crazy, thank you for taking the time to read this blog.) While our laundry lists of to-do items collectively may seem harried and frenetic, it pales in comparison to the chaos of the world. Sex trafficking. Addiction of every shape and kind. Cancer. War. Pornography. Talk about chaos? This real-world stuff is messy and scary. And Jesus’ birth was chaotic and messy and scary, too. I mean, for real, sunshine. Not only did Mary conceive without having sex, (just think about explaining that to your fiancé), she was on the run to Joseph’s home town while dodging the cruel assassin’s edict to kill all baby boys under the age of two, then gave birth in a rickety barn and laid her newborn in a feeding trough–which most likely was filled with slobbery hay and hahhhmmmm…other animal fluids. This sounds to me more like an episode of Jerry Springer than the arrival of The Messiah! I’d say that it’s as messy as it gets. And this is why Jesus came. He arrived through the virgin in the little town of Bethlehem in a smelly, animal-filled-shanty so that He could experience the messiness of life with us. He is here in our messiness experiencing our brokenness right along with us. While God is certainly able to reach His arm down from heaven and help us, He is more concerned with being here among us, and that is why He sent us His Son, and in such chaotic conditions. He gets it. He lived it. He loves us. I am not sure what’s going on in your world today, sunshine, but my highest hope and prayer is that you call upon His name–Emmanuel, God with us–and ask Him to join you. He is right here. He is among the chaos. He is the peace we all yearn for. Merry Christmas, dear one. |
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“…the
angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!…I bring you the most joyful
news ever announced, and it is for everyone! The Savior—yes, the
Messiah, the Lord— has been born tonight in Bethlehem! How will you recognize him? You will find a baby wrapped in a blanket, lying in a manger!'” Luke 2:10-12 TLB |