She gave birth to her
firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7.
People of every age make life’s biggest mistake by imagining
God in every guise but His reality. Really, the stable is ridiculous; the Ruler
of the entire universe would come in power to a palace and take up His rightful
place as King of the earth. In fact, God’s people of that time fully expected
their Messiah to come as a liberating hero and kick the occupying Romans out.
Both convenience and fear dictate our caricatures of God.
Our Father-God should want everyone to have a good time; He must be a
grandfatherly figure, who pats us all on the head. A God of love has no choice
but to provide a haven where He overlooks our sin, so we’ll all enjoy a heaven
of our own making—some heaven!
We may imagine Him as an erratic father who needs to be
appeased at every turn; perhaps a stern and disinterested judge who brings
adversity to punish us for our sins. He probably waits to pounce on every
deviance from his will like a tyrannical dictator.
Alternatively, He simply wound up the universe like a clock,
and, with no further interest in it, left us to our own devices. Just as likely,
He doesn’t even exist, so we’re accountable to no-one!
But, the stable, a significant symbol of Christianity,
destroys all our foolish imaginings. Seeing God in a cattle trough can only
attest to one overriding characteristic: humility. When God gave Moses the Law
in Exodus 34:6–7, he described Himself by characteristics we possess and
recognize: compassion, graciousness, patience, love, faithfulness, and
forgiveness—all components of humility; above all, expressing the values by
which He would administer the law.
However, that doesn’t ignore His omnipotence. In the same
passage He also described Himself as just. When His humble approach to
humankind reaps no response, He will take the only course left, that of
judgment. He was constrained to the manger by His love, not weakness. Don’t let
us mistake “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” for a weak, ineffectual Ruler who will
never bring justice to the world.
So this Christmas season, we rejoice that God reached out to
us in a way we can comprehend—by becoming like us, feeling our pain, showing us
how to live, dying to redeem us back to Himself, and finally rising from the
grave to confirm his authority, power and truth. But, the fulfilment of the
promise of His first coming is the guarantee of His return with power and
justice.
How true!
ReplyDeleteHow true, and how wonderfully you've put it in your words. I totally agree with you.
ReplyDelete