"And she brought forth her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger [feeding trough of dirty, smelly animals] because there was no room for them in the inn." - Luke 2:7
"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief..." - Isaiah 53:10a
"God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 3:10 (NLT)
“The things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; things which angels desire to look into.” - 1 Peter 1:12
Think with me for a moment about one of your heroes or rather, someone you know personally who was of noble and great character. It could be a boss or a pastor or a good friend, just someone who you would trust with your life and follow practically anywhere. I can think of an old boss like this. Now imagine if this person told you he/she was going to give up everything, their position, livelihood, power, etc., and leave to go scrub toilets and remove gum from railings in New York City and not get paid while taking constant grief and beatings from the local gangs. Would you question what they were up to? Would it amaze you that they would do such a thing? Not only are they leaving you behind, but also laying down their greatness for such a lowly task and position.
Now put yourselves in an angel's place and what their thoughts might have been. They, as we know, are not divine nor even close to being all powerful like God. They, like us, possess a finite knowledge (they aren't all knowing like God) and get to be amazed by God's works. They, like us, do not see the future. Though, not like us, they were in constant fellowship with the Triune God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then one day (though prophesied thousand years ahead of time and known by God before angels or time were created), the Son of God leaves Heaven's glories and empties Himself be to be born a man, the incarnation as we call it. Now we think being a man is great, but compared to God it's a huge step downward. It's worse than going from being a CEO of a huge company to being a shoe shiner for a penny a shoe. It's worse than being a human and being made into a chiwawa in a pound full of pitbulls. It's too huge a step down for us to even comprehend or make close comparisons!
But Jesus did not become a man because we were so hip and so cool and worthy for Him to be one of us. It was because we were hopeless, lost and trapped in sin, and even enemies of God (and if you don't know Jesus you still are). He was born in fact to die - to die a horrible, bloody, painful death as a criminal rejected by the very ones He loved and came to save.
But again, back to the angels. They, even as they sang to shepherds (which were not glamorous people), probably had to be wondering what in the world was going on. Why would the King of kings be born and be a human, to a lowly family, in an animals stall and laid in a dirty feeding trough, in a way that was unknown to most of the world? And worst off, to humans who had constantly followed after sin and rebelled against God! The voice of God now cryed as an infant to strangers who could not comprehend what they held. This amazing grace was something that had to just overwhelm them. In fact, they still learn about God as they see Him work in the lives of the saints (see Ephesians 3).
Have you ever just stopped and pondered that? I know it is so easy to take Christmas for granted or get lost in the busyness of shopping for gifts, watching the movies and trying to suck as much out of the Christmas "season" as possible, enjoying this special time for all it's worth.
BUT GOD BECAME A HUMAN BORN TO DIE!!!
How amazing, how astounding, how breathtaking, how extraordinary, how mind-boggling, how overwhelming and remarkable, how prodigious and miraculous, how staggering, stupendous, stunning, wondrous and wonderful is that?!? Or perhaps, like so many, it simply elicits a yawn, a slight smile and simple thoughts of the manger scenes we have on our mantles or church lawns.
He was not born handsome or rich. He lived a lowly life and was unknown to the world for 30 years before He even began His public ministry. And then He did that for only 3 years while He was insulted, antagonized, and rejected even by His own family, before being beaten, beard ripped out, spit on, and crucified, by those He came to save and those He loved. And He did all this knowing in advance everything that would happen to Him.
That is what is so great about Christmas and why we should celebrate it. He came to us to be born to die. Our Christmas trees can elicit thoughts of the cross, the tree He hung on and our lights the Light of the World. We give gifts (hopefully) in remembrance of the gift that was given to us - His very life.
But if the story only ended with His death, then it wouldn't be much for us. He rose again 3 days later giving eternal life to all who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord (following Him) and believe in their heart God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
I pray you'll stop and just ponder the birth of Christ. That you'll allow your mind to try and take on what the angels' minds might have been thinking. That you will be humbled by the awesome love and grace of Jesus Christ. That you'll be blown away by the humility and craziness of it all. And that Christmas would be great to you for all the right reasons!
author's suggested listening: "Born to Die" by Bebo Norman
