Here Comes Christmas / Part III

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” - John 10-25-30

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God." - C. S. Lewis

Response and perspective can only carry us so far. Beyond that we need to produce a defiant faith. A faith that does not rely on logic, proof or any submission to the insistence of man for empirical evidence. In so many ways each person, when they take this step, becomes a living miracle. Much as that baby in the manger. It cannot be said enough that faith is the single most powerful human emotion, for it encapsulates not only the intellect but the soul, marries the two and produces a freedom akin to heaven itself.

Those that "buy in" to the Christmas Story find, before long, an unsettling sense of self. You, that person you know best of all, is getting pushed aside, on the inside. Not in a rude way. There is no imposition here, no forced entry. It is a sweet surrender. As scripture puts it faith, "..is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1). Note the words "sure" and "certain". How you view your inner-self, the world around you and your circumstances are all now subject to a transformation that is necessary, sometimes painful but always rewarding.

How does one become sure of "hope" and certain of what is "unseen"? It starts with the Christmas Story and emerges from there, in the narrative of the life of a man who was far more. A man who stopped for all the hurt in the world, took the time to listen and love, to heal and encourage. From one birth, against all odds and in defiant faith, has come the rebirth of billions of people.

I may not always have the best command of scripture. I often do not have the answers. But I do know one thing: I have that baby. And I will not let go of him until the day I die, when He, at last, will be the one holding me.

Here Comes Christmas / Part II

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I don't know about you but this year has been amazing. I have been blessed in so many ways. Every time I was knocked down the Lord picked me up and whenever I was getting a good old fashioned beating? The Lord had my back. Confused? If you're not then you probably didn't read my blog from yesterday. If you have the time, stop reading this one now, go read that one and come back.

Whereas yesterday I was trying to make a point about our RESPONSE to Christmas...today I'm going to try and make a point about our PERSPECTIVE of Christmas.

What is your perspective on Christmas? I'll bet that, whatever it is, it's very similar to your perspective on your life. Keep in mind that perspective is not only the angle by which we perceive something but also the depth by which we perceive it. How deeply you feel something is as important at how you feel it. My point? I know a few folks who look at this day and Christ in general from one viewpoint or another and say, "Nah." But deep down inside? They aren't so sure. So they hedge their bets. They go through life much the same way: life is hard so God must not be such a good God, right? Bad things happen. There's evil in the world. So God's not so good, right?

The perspective of the Christmas story is that though life will not always be easy, the birth of a new hope is always there. We must remember that of our own lives as well. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and in the midst of all of our circumstances, all day and each year...we will see them, but only if we maintain the right perspective. 

Here Comes Christmas

I don't know about you but this year has mostly sucked. It's been one challenge after another, one day a knockdown the next day just a good old fashioned beating. I won't lie. It's been a struggle and more days than not I've made it all about me.

I have a few friends who are strong NON-believers. I marvel at how they get through the bad years. Sometimes when I'm with them I see that faint smile come over their face as I witness one second and share a misery the next. It's that "poor, naive Christian" kinda smile. I know that smile very well. I used to wear it myself. They love me. They just don't understand me anymore. That's okay. They don't have to because I love them too. And neither love nor understanding have ever been a prerequisite for the other.

But just when I'm about to give up trying to figure it all out? Here comes Christmas. I read a blog yesterday where the point was made that this holiday isn't JUST about Jesus, it's even more about God's dominion in the world. I suggested that it's even more than that.

I think Christmas is not only about that little baby in the manger but the RESPONSES that his very creation, existence, birth and life brought about. From Mary approached by an angel with this amazing idea, to Joseph confronted with the reality of a virgin birth, to the Wise Men who traveled so far with eyes of hope, to the people and the apostles and the Pharisees and the Romans who awaited in the years ahead...to you and to me. It's always been about how we RESPOND to Him.

Here comes Christmas. If you believe please open your heart wide and pray. If you don't believe? Please just open your heart a tiny bit. Christ will take it from there. As he has since that first cry in the manger.