But
as I reflected more I thought - the anticlimactic-ness of it all is something I
think we often struggle with. Something everyone has struggled with along the
way.
I
was re-reading the birth account in Luke the other day in my copy of "The
Message" and was struck by this phrase: "This is what you are looking
for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).
That's
it?
That's
what all the fuss and prayers and anticipation and planning and preparation and
prophesy have been about? Do you think the shepherds cleared their ears and
asked the angels to repeat themselves? I think most of our friends would think
we were crazy people if that was our response to their years of lament and
cries for help.
I
am oppressed and need a victor to rescue me…This is what you are looking for: a
baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger.
I
am tired. I need rest. I need help. I need relief…This is what you are looking
for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger
I
am lonely. I need love. I need to belong. I need to feel significant…This is
what you are looking for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger
I
have no more hope. I need to believe it will all get better and there is a
point…This is what you are looking for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying
in a manger
I
am poor. I need money and resources. I am afraid of what will happen to myself
or my family if I can't figure out soon how to make ends meet…This is what you
are looking for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger
But
it's exactly that anticlimactic-ness that makes the story the most amazing and
relatable.
When
there seems to be no reason to hope, we have hope.
When
there seems to no one or no reason to love, Christ became love.
When
there is no cause for celebration or joy, we have joy.
When
our world is so turned upside down we shouldn't find peace, Christ is our
peace.
Christ
came to turn the world upside down. Came in powerlessness to adjust
expectations. To help us realize it was not about what we could do: with our
brute force, witty political prowess or celebrity status - it's the power of
God. If God was going to redeem the world, it was going to have to be done his
way - and his ways are not our ways. His ways (quite frankly) make no sense a
lot of the time. But they are beautifully relatable - a Savior that understand
rejection, loneliness, hunger, pain, boredom, tiredness, oppression, darkness,
and abandonment. But a Savior that also understand love, joy, hope, peace,
perseverance, power, relief, resources and true communion with God. Had he been
born our literal version of a King like Israel expected, he couldn't have
understood or experienced those thing. He had to flip the paradigm upside down
- he had to be born in an anticlimactic way so we would adjust our expectations
and he would truly suffer human existence.
So
if you're having a hard Christmas this season - whether you can't get in the
holiday spirit, or you have come from a rough year with difficult struggles, or
you feel lonely, or you're lacking in hope - know that you are not alone.
…This is what
you are looking for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and laying in a manger.
This Post First Appeared on The Salt Collective
