Well, it's 4:30AM on Christmas morning and I can't sleep. I'm sitting in front of the fire place and as far as I can tell no one has come down the chimney, the chocolate chip cookie is still on the plate, and the milk is still in the glass. Oh yeah, I'm the dad and I have to eat the cookie again but this year my youngest son told me that he didn't believe in Santa Claus and he's quite sure I'm the one who eats the cookie so why did we still put out the cookie? Why? Because I like cookies.
And, why am I up at 4 AM? First off, I have been awake since 3:30AM and, as strange as this may sound to some, usually when I wake up at 3:30AM God put's something quite strong on my heart and I have to do something about it. Sometimes its a verse of scripture, sometimes it's a dream, and other times it's a message I need to put forth. I've asked God (very politely of course) if it would be possible to move this regular meeting to 9AM but so far he seems content with the current time frame so who am I to press any further? OK, so what's the reason for my insomnia today?
Christmas. I mean, CHRISTmas. The celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ. Yeah, that's it! Not Santa, not the big pine tree in my house, the presents, the cookie and milk, the reindeer, the yule log, the crowded mall, the Grinch, or even Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (I know that last one really hurts). And, before I get a bunch of comments about Christmas being the remnant of a pagan holiday, December 25th unlikely being the factual date of Jesus' birth, or the fact that the early church didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus (The Church didn't proclaim this date and celebration until 440 AD), I want to say, "I know all of that." But so what?
The point is that Jesus, the Christ, WAS born and his birth was both miraculous (not to say that every birth isn't quite miraculous) and his birth was prophesied hundreds of years before it happened. I know you've likely heard these verses before or read them at the bottom of a Christmas card (if you actually read the card before the twenty dollar bill from Aunt Mildred fell out) but I want you to really ponder them today:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephratha, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)
God spoke though these prophets nearly seven centuries earlier, proclaiming that the Messiah (the Christ) would be born of a virgin (quite an amazing feat!) and would be born in the VERY insignificant and small town of Bethlehem. They predicted he'd be born of the tribe of Judah (only a one in twelve chance) and that he'd be born of the line of David. This is very helpful for a man of such weak faith as I. I like some reassurance for my faith. I would be like Thomas, poking my fingers in the wounds and then saying, "My Lord and my God!" So, do I think God woke me up this early to prove to you that Jesus was the Christ? Maybe, but I don't think so. I think it was something even bigger.
I think it was to fast forward 33 years from the birthday of Jesus (whatever the real date is) to a cross on a hill and then to an empty tomb around the corner. You see, until I came to the saving knowledge that what this God-man did on the cross at Calvary, his birth meant little to me. Yeah, it was a fun holiday and I could get a bit sentimental about the baby in the manger but the magnitude of the event didn't hit me until I came through the cross. When I finally understood that Jesus, who was both fully God and fully human, came to earth to pay the penalty for our sin (the atonement) and to make us right with God (reconciliation) and that through his resurrection, he conquered death, I finally was able to look at CHRISTmas and sing, "Oh holy night..." and really mean it.
I think we contemplate it backwards. We can certainly grasp the birth of the baby Jesus with our minds before we come to the cross but we really can't celebrate Christmas with our hearts until we know him as Lord through that cross. Even though the virgin birth was amazing, the transaction that bought our freedom came on Easter and when we cling to him on Easter and know our need for his love and his grace and his sacrificial gift, we can then finally see past the tinsel and wrapping paper and worship him on this wonderful December morning!
I want to thank you for spending the past year with us and with those who have participated in the I-61 Project. I want to invite you to drop us a comment, a question, a concern, or a prayer need any time. We love to get into the Word and would also be honored to pray for you or with you. If any of you have been on the fence with regard to Jesus Christ, we would be glad to chat with you and answer questions as best we can. Drop us a note!
May God grant you a VERY blessed CHRISTmas!
David and the I-61 Project
David, I look forward to all your posts -- I'm sorry you were up so early, but I'm thankful for your faithfulness to share this important message.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we try to keep the message of Christ the focus of our Christmas, I often wonder if we're missing the mark. Grace was up at 3:15 a.m. today (me too), but neither of us was meditating on the fact that Christ died for our salvation at that hour this morning.
We have an Advent box which is stuffed with scripture readings and fun little treats throughout the month of December. Usually Grace finds Jesus in Day 25 of advent box. But this year she asked if she could "keep Jesus" and I couldn't refuse. (She has her own nativity set and typically doesn't get Jesus until Christmas morning.) Anyway, when my child asked for Jesus the first Sunday in Advent I told her yes, she could have him. Then I wondered what to put in the box for Christmas day. Pastor Riley's message a few weeks ago has stuck with me. Today she found a cross in the Advent box. The conversation didn't seem that profound, but we're trying to cement the idea that God's gift of Christ to us is wonderful, but Christ's sacrifce on the cross is really where it's at. It's hard to teach something that I wonder if I truly grasp myself. Again I say, we're trying. This post today is encouragement for me to keep trying.
Merry Christmas!