How might the conversation have started?
“Son, they need you.”
Yes. That sounds right.
“Their world is quickly being corrupted by every imperfection, every form of wickedness. Pain, struggle, heartache…it’s all just too much. They’ve got no hope. It’s time to finish the plan. I’m grieved at what this will mean for you, for us, but I can’t stand the thought of losing them forever. Will you do my will?”
This conversation is obviously pure speculation, but as I imagine Jesus choosing to leave the highest of positions to descend into the womb of an unwed teenage girl, I get the sense that it was voluntary. Jesus lives to please His Father, so I expect He would have already said yes to becoming nothing…even while being everything. That’s not rational! At least to my mind, it’s not.
Our finite minds can’t comprehend the heart and mind and actions of an infinite God any more than an ant can comprehend a mission to Mars. But God has spoken to us through His Word, and He has cracked a window just enough to reveal aspects of His plan in order to guide and to encourage us.
Jesus’ incarnation is the hinge point for all of human history, and we would be well served to ponder its implications. As I reflect on Jesus’ birth, I wonder: how can we please God the way Jesus did?
- We can, like Jesus, humble ourselves and offer to be used by our Father in any way He chooses.
- We can, like Jesus, focus on others, not on ourselves. We can hold loosely to our stuff, our comforts, and our titles.
- We can, like Jesus, be irrational—giving up something in exchange for nothing. We can offer our time, talents, and treasure…even when we don’t get something in return.
This Christmas, let’s seek to understand more fully the journey that Jesus chose, exchanging Glory for a food trough.
This Christmas, let’s celebrate His birth through what-was-he-thinking? levels of generosity.
This Christmas, let’s be a little more irrational.
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