Christmas Ponderings

I am struck this holiday season with the fact that God had a plan for His people from the dawn of creation. So much in my life I have taken for granted. So much have I simply accepted. Coming to a new light this year has been God’s divine
direction of His people.

In the Garden, God gave Adam a choice—the choice of free will—for His desire was not for His creation’s worship of him to be simple, even animalistic, but a decisive act of will. From the Fall, God had a plan to draw His people back to Himself—to save them from themselves. This plan, woven throughout the Old Testament carried through Abraham—was he “The One,” the one God planned? To Moses—the Israelite deliverer; was he God’s chosen? Then David—man after God’s own heart; was he the One promised? These stories, these men, go so much deeper than simply leaders of Israel. Not only were they instruments in God’s ultimate story, but characters singing of grace, mercy, hope and redemption. Paintings of His faithfulness, goodness and worthiness.

Then, hundreds of years later, in a manner no one would expect, comes a teenage girl and her fiancé, returning to his hometown. No one knew, no one expected. They were much too busy to remember the promise from long ago, too involved in  their own crises to hope.  There was no room in that little town for this couple about to give birth to their first child. Only the man and girl
knew—they were players in a drama that had been unfolding since the beginning of time. Stepping out in faith, they were unaware of how their lives would be altered during this child’s lifetime. The man and girl settle into a stable carved into a rock. There, amid the grime, the stench and the noise of animals, the “Son of God became flesh and dwelt among man.” Angels
appeared to shepherds shouting: “Glory to God in the highest!” What a PLAN! Those who knew rushed to the pungent stable to fall on their knees and lift grimy hands in worship and adoration to the King long awaited. Was it what anyone expected? No. Was it God’s perfect plan, set to motion at the perfect time and foretold by prophets long ago? Yes.

Yet this wasn’t the end. This song had not yet reached its crescendo. The plan was in place, the characters and script were set, the music written. This infant-God, who was dependent upon a teenage girl for survival, was here on earth to live out the heartache of rejection, the joy of acceptance; the brutal terror, horrific pain, and the necessary yet tragic death and glorious resurrection.
This baby, so small; was The One sent to show the world God’s expansive care. The gift of love came to mankind that night so long ago in Bethlehem.

Do you remember? Or has Christmas lost its potency; its music dimmed over the course of the years, a result of difficulty, disappoinment and disallusionment? It’s so easy to come to that place where anticipation and hope no longer fill our hearts, but bitterness, hurt, sorrow and fear crowd in. Sometimes it seems so far away—so far removed from where we are today. So far from that night when the Father said it was time to set His masterpiece in motion by sending His only Son into a wicked world. A world ripe with selfishness, pride, and all things ungodly. So far away from that night when when the presence of God must have crackled like electricity. So far from that night when hope was real. 

My friends, there is still HOPE! The piece, written so long ago, is not outdated! It is, in fact, the core basis of our faith, our belief, and the sweetness of its sound only swells with time. And from that time until now, we see that infant’s divine hand moving in our lives—moving each encounter, every situation and all circumstances in our lives. What an amazing composition our Heavenly Father set to music beginning with Creation! He didn’t stop or give up on His people when they played out of tune and without His perfectly harmonious music. Each time, He was there to welcome His children back—even though there was consequence.

How like Israel I am, how stubborn, how unseeing! Yet my Heavenly Father walks with me; pulls me from the mire of myself and gently prods me on.

May I (and you too!) not just this season, but all year long, remember the night God’s love set the world on edge—in a town unsuspecting and busy; among people unhearing and without hope. May I be like the shepherds and drop my“duties” to lift unclean hands before the Holy Lord. May I be touched throughout my life as I am now, with the awesomeness of the Child; of the plan He came to fulfill. May I never forget the sacred score to which my life dances and the hand that has guided not only my song, but the music of generations before me. May I remember the love God has for me, and never cease to show that love to all I meet. Finally, may I never forget the plan put into motion so many years ago, that by God’s grace and mercy, still includes me.