SetApart1

Some days I am struck with wonder when I think about the Incarnation. To be honest, it doesn’t happen often enough, but there is something about this season – even in the midst of front yard snow-globes and endless lines at the mall – something that is mysterious and magical.

Now, I understand that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th. I know that American consumerism has really reigned in on God’s turf. I’ve heard that well meaning Christians are boycotting big box retailers because they don’t wish their shoppers a “Merry Christmas” in an attempt to prove a point. But keeping Christ in Christmas doesn’t really have anything to do with any of that.

Jesus – God in human flesh – left heaven to come “tabernacle” among us. This is not news to most of us – but it is so much at the heart of the Gospel that on that first Christmas day, the angels declared this simple truth as “good news (Gospel) of great joy!” He left His throne where He had been worshiped and adored by legions of angels. He left the perfection and every luxury of a king’s kingdom. He existed in eternity – outside the bounds and constraints of time and space – for all eternity. And then in the fullness of time, He stepped down from that throne, took on the soft, squishy flesh of an infant and entered our dark, sinful world. It is true that in Him we live and breathe and have our being, but on this most remarkable day, He took His first breath into tiny human lungs. He, says Paul, “made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” This is the thing that brings me to my knees. His motivation for making Himself nothing is nothing more or less than His love for us.

He made Himself nothing.

Funny how, in light of this, so many of us are striving to make “something” of ourselves. Amazing how our enemy has used pride to overtake our pulpits, or cause divisions, when the King we proclaim displayed such humility. It is something to mourn, how easy it is to take this example as anything less than a pattern for our own ministry.

We serve a missional God, my friends. He left Home to earn a living among us. He wore the latest Galilean fashions, and spoke the common language. He engaged culture. He was interested in the lives of individuals and cried over the city. He traveled with 12 disciples, but ministered to countless others. He grew tired. He got upset. He traded a throne for dusty sandals and never once complained about it. He never lost sight of His mission, he never stopped moving with compassion, and He never questioned the love that motivated His cause.

This season, instead of protesting when an unbelieving culture doesn’t recognize the birth of our Savior, perhaps we should share His extravagant love with it. Perhaps keeping Christ in Christmas has more to do with us reflecting that humble day when the Creator of all things shared his birthplace with some lowly shepherds and smelly farm animals. Maybe, just maybe, God is most glorified when we show the world what we are FOR in the name of Christ, than what we are against in the name of our angry mob-like flesh. He is likely not offended when someone simply says “Happy Holidays,” why should we be? When I think about the Incarnation, I’m renewed in my convictions, and I hope you will be, too. The most miraculous moment this side of the cross was marked by joy, humility, love and hope. I pray your holidays reflect these as well. After all, John reminds us “If we say we are His, we must follow the example of Christ” (1 John 2:6).

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