Devo 31
12/19/00
"As a Child"
I'm not sure how many of you will get this before Christmas, or will even feel like reading a big long devo with all the activity taking place. But, I promise to keep this short, and even if you don't read this until sometime next year, I think it will still be relevant. That said, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and I pray that the demands of the season don't get too demanding.
For some reason, this year I've been thinking a lot more about the Christmas season than I normally do. I think part of it is realizing just how differently I react to the season now than I did as a kid. When did the days become normal length again? When did the thrill of a dozen brightly-wrapped gifts cease to enrapture me? When did my Christmas list start becoming filled with practical suggestions? Admittedly, growing up has driven away much of the magic that used to infuse this season. And with the loss of the magic, the reality of life has begun to dampen spirits to the degree that this season has become one of most stressful periods in a person's life. If there is to be any more magic and wonderment, it now must be sought after. I've been retrieving some of this excitement and awe by considering the basic fact of Christ's birth.
Why did God choose to enter this world as a tiny baby? Why not just appear one day walking out of the desert and start healing people? What were Jesus' early years like? How was he as a child? Would He have done things that would surprise us? He certainly surprised the religious leaders later on with His radical 'interpretation' of the law of Moses. Was there a point in His life when He realized His divine origin and special connection with God, or was it something He was always aware of? Did His ministry truly begin with the miracle at the wedding in Cana, or was He doing other things before this? What was He doing before He began actively preaching? Did He have to study the law like all the other little Jewish boys? Was He ever given a bad grade (or whatever its equivalent) for a controversial 'interpretation'? There are hundreds of questions that can be asked and little to no answers. It's clear from the gospels that the most important parts of Jesus' life were the three years of ministry, and the events surrounding His birth. Were the middle years equally important though left out for brevity's sake? If they weren't important, then why even bother with a birth? Why not just jump to the 'good stuff' and have Jesus appear out of the desert ready to preach the coming of the Kingdom?
Well, obviously the birth, and growing up were important, but why? I wonder if part of it might not be the mere symbolism of the event (I won't be as crass as to say that this is the only reason, there are doubtless reasons that man may never comprehend). Maybe some explanation can be found in looking at a couple of Jesus' own references to this period of life? Can you remember the time Jesus talked about birth? In talking with Nicodemus, Jesus said, "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." As He later explains, this is a symbolic birth of Spirit and not a physical birth as we were all brought into this world. But this rebirth is the only means of entering the kingdom of God. Do you remember what Jesus said about children? He said that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. In light of these two verses, suddenly, birth and childhood are no longer seemingly inconsequential steps on the way to adulthood, they have become the very symbols for entrance into and citizenship of the kingdom of God.
People constantly hold up the life as Jesus as a standard by which to live our own lives. Do as Jesus would do. Well, if His life and even His death can be used as examples on how we can live a Godly life, why not His birth also. In fact, this may be one of the greatest examples He has given us. Because while the rest of His life may guide our own life on earth, in His birth we find the guide and the way to enter the life after. What Jesus demonstrated in the physical by being born again as a man and by dying, we must demonstrate in the spiritual by dying to our sinful selves and being raised anew as a babe into the kingdom of God.
Just as Christ entered into our world, we must enter into His.