Where do I begin? I’m
so overwhelmed by God. I’m so overtaken by the essence of Him. Even as I write
this, tears well up in my eyes with such gratitude accompanied with a deep rich
awe. God’s love is incredible, and He truly answers prayer! I’ve been praying
for a fresh revelation of God’s love and fresh revelation of Jesus Christ; now
I have experienced a small taste of this prayer.
There has been a stirring in my Spirit, a restlessness,
almost like the pit of my stomach was being mixed. In this I felt the Lord say
“This Christmas will be different. This season is unique.”
This is my first Christmas in my own place, my first
Christmas with my own tree, and my first Christmas with eyes to see deeper in
to the meaning of it all. I have grown up in a Christian home and have read the
story of Jesus’ birth every year. I’ve been in several Christmas programs, and
have even taught children what this season is all about; yet this year I see a
bit differently.
I’ve been thinking about the Old Testament and how the
Jewish people waited so long with anticipation for God. I’ve been pondering the
faith it must have took for the Prophets to see in part, and hope for a day
where the Messiah would come. The heart of God is so great! That He would
assure his love and faithfulness to His people time and time again, reminding
them that one day a Savior will come.
Think about the immense love and the deep swelling of God’s
heart towards us. God, the one who rightfully deserves everything, chose to
little himself and come as a baby. Not just any baby born anywhere, but a small
child born in an animal’s home and placed in its food pin. This great act of
humility on this quiet night only gives a sliver of His great love towards us.
This night probably didn’t look glorious. It isn’t a fairy
tale like story we so often imagine it to be. I picture this night to be dark,
cold, and quiet. After much pain and intense labor, Jesus is born. Not in a
house or a shed, but in animals sleeping quarters.
Who were the first to hear about the birth of the one the Prophets
spoke of? Lowly shepherds. These men were not rich but poor. The sheep they
tended were not even theirs. They were no bodies and had nothing to give.
Animals, Mary, Joseph, and a few simple shepherds were the
ones to welcome the awaited one, God in flesh, on that night.
Why so quiet? Why such humility? Why in this way? A continual
passion that drives the heart of God is what propelled Him to take such drastic
measures of meeting men on earth. This fiery love, this explosive passion, this
intense zeal for you and for me, is what propelled God to come in a way that no
one expected. Only to die in a way that no one anticipated. Why? Because He
LOVES.
So when I see a Charley Brown Christmas tree that is all
catawampus standing in my living room with candy canes and a star of top, I
think of that quiet night painted with such humility, giving me hope for my
catawampus life to be restored unto Him.
This is the true meaning of Christmas!
