God Showed Up
As we get closer and closer to Christmas Eve, I think about the most remarkable moment when God showed up on this earth as a precious, perfect little baby boy — who just “laid in a manger”. Hmm. I don’t think I ever saw him crying and Mary needing to hold him to soothe him. How perfect that little man was.
That “picture” is vivid for us — after all, we’ve witnessed it in movies, nativity sets, dramatic productions and heard detailed stories and songs about the “Sweet little Jesus boy. They made you be born in a manger. Sweet little holy child. We didn’t know who you were.” That cold, dark night is conveyed as sweet and mild with angels looking down and the earth standing still to welcome the King. But in reality, Mary, nine months pregnant and Joseph had toiled to make their way for miles and miles for many days to arrive at the lowliest place possible – the place where the animals bedded down and were fed. Today, we are advised to stay close to home — “no traveling after 7 months — even in an airplane or car”.
Can you imagine that Joseph – he who was not even the birth father of this baby — more than likely, was the mid-wife for Mary? Can you imagine the weight on his shoulders? Can you imagine the thoughts of Mary – from the announcement by the angel that she was favored and would give birth to the Son of God, would lead to this place and in these circumstances? Mary was a woman who experienced the pains of birth. There were no epidurals back then — no monitors that kept track of the baby’s heartbeat. There were no incubators in that cave. The Son of God wasn’t placed in a sterile, comfortable cradle. He was placed in the animals’ feed trough. And, to Mary, her newborn baby probably looked like anything but a king. His face was probably prunish and red just like every other newborn baby. His cry was as shrill and helpless as our newborn babies are. And He was absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being. Can you imagine the weight of being responsible for raising a king – never mind, the Son of God?
That night, as extraordinary as it was with shepherds being startled and amazed by the host of angels that announced a king was born, it was still an ordinary birth. And for the next thirty-three years Jesus would feel everything you and I have ever felt. Weak, weary, hungry, thirsty, and broken-hearted. His feelings got hurt. His back and feet ached from the uneven and rocky roads he would travel. He suffered heat exhaustion in those dry, desert places. He felt alone when his so-called friends abandoned Him. He was misunderstood and his best intentions were ridiculed. He eventually died a death of thieves and murderers with very few of His followers standing by Him.
To think of Jesus in such a light seems almost irreverent. There’s something about keeping Him divine that keeps Him distant and predictable. BUT DON”T DO IT! For heaven’s sake, DON’T! It was a Master Plan for Him to be human so that you and I have someone who gets us — who gets our needs — who understands our pains — who SHOWS UP for us when we need Him most. Let Him be as human as He intended to be. Let His human example of loving in spite of pain, refusing to sin in spite of temptation, forgiving in spite of rejection — be our example to others, too. Let Him into the mire and muck of our world. That’s how He showed up and that’s how He “finished up”. Only if we let Him in — can He pull us out! Let Him be God with us for in letting Him be God with us — we are never alone and never without a Savior. Let Him SHOW UP in you and your world today!.