{...proof that leftovers never go bad - this was written 12/17/10 - but trust me it's still hot...}
Under the heading of ‘books I’ll never write’ comes an interesting thought that gave me an ironic chuckle today as an ad from a local store came across my Facebook feed. Apparently there is a great sale on crosses, 20% off for the 6th day of Christmas. You should rush on down today if you know the place I’m talking about, I know my wife may well get one more for her wall. So this is not a knock on them, but the premise of my funny chuckle (funny~sad, not funny~ ha-ha). Here’s the sad little irony that I am convicted of at my very core~ that the discounting of the Cross to ‘make a sell’ or to ‘get them in the door’ is all too prevalent in our ‘Christian’ culture, our personal practices, and our churches. We make it cheap and easy, for our own purposes and comfort. There is no time that this is more apparent than at Christmas.
It’s nice and enjoyable to shop for gifts [not really], give gifts, get gifts, have parties, prepare pageants, sing carols, eat food, have time off, see family, enjoy Christmas classics, etc., etc. It’s even a nice thought to be a culture warrior and fight for the ‘meaning of Christmas’ by demanding we say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays OR to have long and loud discussions about why the Nativity scene is just fine for the government grounds OR why it’s ok to sing Silent Night in the school program [although this is all a bit misguided]. It’s especially a good concept to take that Christmas angel for a kid who otherwise might not get a gift or to donate to a worthwhile cause to relieve some suffering or meet some need. But if we are honest with ourselves, we do all this for ourselves and to our own benefit.
Where’s Jesus?... kind of like Where’s Waldo? Can we look into all this chaos and all this clutter to find Him? And even if we do, is it this placid little 8lb baby Jesus laying in the manger come as a blessing to give us some self-exalting sense of kindness and mercy to our fellow man that we are seeing this Christmas time? OR will we somehow have a genuine encounter with ‘the’ Jesus as Christ the Lord.
Our family is working on Luke 2:11 as a memory verse this week… “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. [ESV].” Maybe its me, because I am always asking but WHY, for WHAT, HOW COME? The answer is there, He is come to be our Savior – this Word of God, Son of God, God in the flesh come to live as us and die as one of us, but even more to bear on Himself the very punishment and judgment which we are due for our failures. I think we enjoy and like the 8lb baby Jesus lying in a manger, because it’s neutral, it’s nice… there is nothing there but what we might choose to imagine for it. Baby Jesus doesn’t command our attention, nor does He cause any concern or place any expectation on us. But, don’t miss that He is Christ the Lord – NOT that He came to claim that as a title or become that in His life or even ours, but that He IS that. HE IS CHRIST THE LORD!
This is the mistake many of His ‘followers’ made while He was with them. He could attract massive crowds with the miracles and revolutionary words. Everyone was in when it was nice… comforting words, needs met and being fed~ everyone was in. But never forget that when He revealed His purpose, when He said clearly what He was all about, and what He wanted from folks - the crowds left offended. When He proclaimed His truest nature as God, they sought to and eventually killed Him for it. The cross is an offense to the unregenerate, it is a reminder of the death and judgment that each of us must face. Without the victory over this horrible end and salvation found in following Christ, the cross is a glaring obstacle to a life lived like we would please to live on our own, without Him. We would rather live a life denying that He is Christ the Lord than submit to idea that we might otherwise have to respond.
This is why Jesus came. This is why the baby was born and the shepherds celebrated. This is why foreign dignitaries travelled long and arduously into enemy occupied territory. This is why Herod killed every possible baby that could be this child of God. He is Christ the Lord, the promised Messiah, who Himself spoke this world into existence and will one day reclaim it in judgment. He is Christ the Lord, who reigns since before there was time and throughout eternity. Squish all that down into your otherwise bland little 8lb baby Jesus lying in a manger and tell me why Christmas isn’t just another pagan holiday made nice.
We live by the grace of a Holy and Righteous Lord who Himself suffered our worst passions and desires in the frail body of a man… taking on Himself in His last breath on this Earth the very judgment and condemnation due us. Before dying on that cross and even after His resurrection, He made it clear what He expected of those who are His people and would pass through judgment by His grace. He expects us to follow Him… past the manger, past the gifts, past the miracles, past the blessings, and right up to the cross. He expects us to live and proclaim this good news of salvation to ourselves, to believers, and to those who are lost and dead in their lives without Him. This gospel is who He is, why he came, and what we are to be about. Don’t discount the cross. Don’t even settle for a ‘reason for the season’ mentality. Live the gospel, knowing that it is surely not our good and kind deeds that commend us to Him, as if we were buying some discount trinket of faith. Rather it is His grace and mercy poured out on us giving us the very breath of life and the Spirit of God to redeem us. He is Christ the Lord. Live and proclaim as such.
Merry Christmas!
