Saturday, December 23, 2006

He Didn't Have To Do It...But He Did


Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call Him Emmanuel."

He didn't have to do it, you know. The Almighty Lord Creator Of All That Ever Was And Ever Will Be didn't have to bother with the likes of us. And He certainly didn't have to do it in the way He did it. But He did. One day, God was contemplating all that He had brought forth into being and it came to be the time that He had planned for all along.

God sat upon the throne of eternity looking across time and space to see the first wayward choice made by God's first friend upon His creation called earth. And at the very same moment He stared Adam in the face and saw the shame there, God also saw the look His Son would give Him at the moment of His ultimate abandonment and betrayal upon His earthly throne...two roughhewn pieces of wood, lashed together with rope, not crushed red velvet. God also saw in that very same moment the looks on all of the faces who would come to receive His Son in their hearts. From shame to abandonment to the purest rejoicing! And the sight of rejoicing clinched it. That did it.

God arose from His throne, gathering up the infinity of His divinity, and He squeezed Himself into a womb of a young virgin named Mary. What was it like for an infinite Being existing in every moment and in every quark throughout the universe to be confined to such a space? What was it like for God, Absolute Purity, to enter into sin-stained creation? What did the taint feel like?

He didn't have to do it, you know. The Creator Of Order And Chaos didn't have to bother with the likes of us. Certainly humanity had turned its collective back upon the Divinity from which it had sprung. Certainly, God could have resigned Himself to being the Great Watchmaker who created the watch, set it into motion, sitting back to observe history unfold, never entering into it...never bothering to check its accuracy or movement. But He did. He dove right in to bring about a New Order. Several years later, He would gather some of His friends around a table and tell them about this New Order. He would call it a New Covenant. A New Covenant of grace and forgiveness which would set things right all the way back to His first friend Adam. But this New Order was also a New Chaos, because He would come and turn everything upside down...from our perspective, anyway.

God...yes God...was in a womb for nine months. Hearing the muffled sounds of life going on around His mother, a young woman named Mary. God heard her prayers from inside her. Imagine that...she's praying, thinking her prayers are drifting off into the ethereal realms of God, and her prayers are being heard from within her. Sure, she'd heard the prophecy of Emmanuel...God with us. But she didn't really understand how with us He'd be.

He didn't have to do it, you know. The Lord Over All And Everything certainly didn't have to become Emmanuel. The Lord who set the universe in motion sitting above it all, aware of every atom, did not have to come to be with us. But He did.

And here's the question...why?

Why did the The Lord Over All And Everything, The Creator Of Order And Chaos, Absolute Purity, The Almighty Lord Creator Of All That Ever Was And Ever Will Be come to be with us?

Well first of all, because He said He would. But even that doesn't fully answer it. Because certainly a Being so great could change His mind.

So why did God come to be with us?

The answer is so simple and yet is beyond my understanding. Because the answer to this question truly is the answer to all of our questions. And if we would first live this answer before and above everything else, then our lives would be radically different. This answer is the very reason God came to be with us. And it's something we once knew but we forgot about along the way. And this Emmanuel God tried to remind us throughout the years. He sent folks all over the place to remind us. And often we'd remember for a while. But then our power of choice and the influence of the Enemy would distract us...and we'd forget. Emmanuel God came to be with us for one reason. What is it? It's so simple...will you believe me when I tell you? Okay, here goes...

Love.

God could not sit idly by watching us hate each other. God could not sit idly by watching us destroy or worse yet, ignore each other. Because truly, the opposite of love is not hate...it's indifference. And God is not indifferent. God is the very answer He sent...Love.

Emmanuel. God with us.

Love. Love with us.

Mary didn't really understand how with us God would be. Do we?

My friends, Emmanuel is here. God is with us. God is with you at this very moment, wherever you are. God is with you whether or not you even want Him to be. God is with you as you walk the malls, searching for that something to fill your loved one's void. God is with you as you look for things which you think will fill your own void. God is with you at work. God is with you when your work is fulfilling...and when it's not. God is with you when you sin. God is with you even when you turn your back on Him. God is with you. Love is with you.

Christmas is a reminder to us not of a fairy-tale-esque story of Wise Men, Shepherds and Angels...although the story we read each year at this time does recount the blessing of Emmanuel…and there is great value in reading the Truth, God’s Word. No, Christmas is ultimately a reminder that God is with us...that Love is with us.

That is the miracle of Emmanuel. That is the real surprise we receive each Christmas. The real surprise is not a box with ribbons and bows...but is the fact that the Infinite Almighty Creator would choose to enter in not in a blazing chariot of fire, vanquishing our foes, but as a baby, basking in our love...blessing us with His.

He didn't have to do it, you know. He didn't have to be Emmanuel...God with us. But He did. And each Christmas, we are given the choice of whether or not to receive this gift of Love. Christmas is a bold reminder that Love awaits us in every moment whether we want it or not. That is the miracle...the gift...the great surprise of Emmanuel...God is with us. Love is with us.

Christmas is about what God gave. Not what we give. Will you receive His gift? Will you receive the great gift of Emmanuel this Christmas? Will you open your arms and receive the great gift of God's Love?

He didn't have to do it, you know. But He did.

Be WILD For Christ...and Merry Christmas!

Pastor Shane

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