“Christ was born in the first century, yet he belongs to all centuries. He was born a Jew, yet He belongs to all races. He was born in Bethlehem, yet He belongs to all countries.….” (George W. Truett)
It’s Christmas Eve, and i’m in my apartment…alone…watching Boardwalk Empire. i’m on Episode 3 now, and it’s better than i thought it would be….
It’s probably bad that – especially as a theologian and scholar – when i think of “Jesus quotes” the first thing to pop into my head is “Talledega Nights,” but – hey – there are worse things in Life. On nights like tonight, though, i think of all kinds of other quotes…
Quotes from angels and prophets and blind people who got healed and people i’ve known who were lost and got saved. They all remind me of that old Army slogan: You know, the one that said, “We do more before 6 AM than most people do all day….”
It’s like that with Jesus quotes, because He – the Word of God – did more before He ever uttered a word than most people do in a Lifetime. i mean, let’s even throw out all the Old Testament stuff (which i wouldn’t, if i were You, but just for the sake of argument, oblige me for a minute…) and still the sheer amount of sacrifice is just stunning.
A decision made before time was created. A covenant sworn between God and God. A plan forged before angels existed. A mystery kept for all eternity until He went back and commissioned us. Patience while people suffered. A harbinger in His cousin’s miraculous birth. A joy in His own. Laying aside each one of the many privileges of divinity like You and i take off a coat. Forever changing his nature from divinity – first to humanity and then to deity….
A smelly stable. An anxious mother. A worried father. Oblivious animals. Traveling shepherds. Singing angels. Shining stars….
Faithful people. Unfaithful people. Some looking, some not. Some hoping, some too distracted. Some asking, some too consumed with the world. Some trusting, some making their own way….
Tonight, i hope the mystery comes back for You. i hope the wonder of it all comes back for You. Not for Santa or any other saint, but for the One saints worship. O that we might have a Messiah tracker and 10,000 angels pulling His chariot. Maybe we should leave him milk and honey on the counter. Perhaps we should wrap up spices and ointments and currency and put them under a tree….
Anyway, Merry ChristComing everyone. i hope it comes every day for You now….
The Talledega Nights references made me so happy - one of my favorite movie scenes of all times....note I did not say one of my favorite movies of all times. I am a little more discerning than that :).
ReplyDeleteThe idea of living between the advents is really resonating with me right now.