Post Christmas ponder

It is very easy now that Christmas Day has passed to put away the Christmas story for another year, to wind down the carols and to focus on the social aspects of this season. After all by next Sunday we shall be thinking about the New Year and what 2018 will bring.

However before we consign Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds and wise men to the spiritual attic of our lives, it is good to take a moment to reflect again on these key players in the greatest birth that the world has even seen. The whole event was upside down.

Royal births are a major occasion and Jesus’ birth should have been the most royal of royal events. Yet nothing could have been more removed from this birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This was not a birth to royal parents in a palace with every convenience that 1^st century Judea could provide. This was a birth in a stable of all places to two very ordinary but Godly people, carefully chosen by God to fulfil this most precious assignment – to parent the Son of God.

I often wonder what Mary thought when she realised she was going to have to give birth in a stable. She had had to deal with all the social ostracising that her pregnancy had caused, all the gossip and rejection that she and Joseph must have had to bear in small town Nazareth. Now it seemed that God wasn’t even going to provide a small clean room to give birth to his son. Poor Joseph too must have been distressed that he couldn’t provide a suitable place for this royal birth.

As I’ve said before it is so easy with the benefit of hindsight to see the significance of these events but when you are living them, Mary and Joseph had a tough time.  Then the first visitors were not the good and great, the significant and famous as it should have been – it was shepherds – unclean in every way - shepherds. These were probably the shepherds who looked after and provided the sheep and lambs needed for the temple sacrifices. More deep significance that those at the bottom of the social ladder, those providing the sacrifices for the temple, were the first to see Jesus the perfect sacrifice, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

I wonder how many mangers in how many stables and outhouses the shepherds checked before they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. They would have entered awkward and gauche to see the baby but bringing the story of angels coming to their hillside telling them that a Saviour had been born – the Messiah. They were so excited about what had happened that they told everyone about it. I expect Mary and Joseph received a lot more visitors after that. But the Bible makes clear Mary treasured all these things in her heart and pondered them.

Before we pack away Christmas for another year it is worth taking a moment to also ponder the amazing fact that Jesus came in the most unlikely of circumstances with the most improbable of people as the key players to come and save us, the most underserving of people. Do we treasure up in our hearts the wonder of our salvation by the King of Glory? 

Born of incorruptible seed

Paul wrote I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3: 6 – 7.

I cradled our latest grandchild in my arms. She was just a few days old and I marvelled again at the potential in this tiny scrap of humanity. Within her was everything needed for her to grow into a mature adult. Thirty-two years earlier I had cradled another baby and he had grown into a fine young man, the father of this child. Of course we had cared for, taught, guided, protected this child. We had done our best to bring out the best but all we were doing was watering the seed within.

What a miracle it is that within every baby are the seeds of all they will need to develop, grow and mature into a fully formed adult. I wonder if as Mary held the infant Jesus in her arms she pondered how her child would grow and develop. Yet within this baby was everything he would need to mature into the Messiah.

Paul pointed out that you don’t plant a fruit to get another fruit – you plant a seed. Now I am no biologist but as I understand it, within each one of us is the seed or genetic code inherited from our parents that determines physical appearance, personality and maybe natural talents – in fact how a person will turn out.

However God has also planted within each one of us his seed, an incorruptible seed and when we are born again and become believers that seed which contains the very DNA of Jesus is activated (1 Peter 2: 23). By faith the character and likeness of Jesus begins to mature so we become more and more like him.

All of who God is resides in our spirit. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form and in Christ you have been brought to fullness Colossians 2: 9 – 10. In the King James version it says we are complete in him. We lack nothing to grow into the likeness of Jesus.

John made an interesting point No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3: 9.  The life from the spiritual seed cannot sin because it is the seed of Jesus. The natural one is the seed that likes to sin. By faith we must help the spiritual seed to grow so the likeness of Jesus shines forth.

When Jesus was born as a baby, he was complete. He had no sinful DNA from his father because his Father was the Holy Spirit. By faith yet nurtured by Mary and Joseph, family, friends and the rabbis he grew to fulfil his destiny. He had to consistently let the spiritual seed of God rule over any temptation that would be placed before him and so he remained sinless and therefore able to be the perfect sacrifice to be the Saviour of the world.

We are people made in the image of God and the world needs the believers to walk in all that Jesus walked in and more. This comes by putting to death the sinful life spawned by the natural seed and letting the spiritual, incorruptible seed grow through faith and obedience.

Emmanuel - God with us

At this Christmas time, we remember that Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us. Jesus came to show what God is like as well as to die for the sins of the world. He told Thomas ‘if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father.’

If we stop and think what Jesus is like, we see someone with a huge heart for the lost and dying, someone who loved people, who helped and healed those whom society had little time for. 

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness among the people.  News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralysed; and he healed them. Matthew 4: 23 – 24.

Having met their needs, he then sat down and taught the crowd, the teaching now known as The Beatitudes. The first one was ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ Matthew 5: 3. Who were the ‘poor in spirit’? I believe, as Dallas Willard wrote, that the poor in spirit were this crowd of needy people – the sick, demon possessed, those in pain and paralysed. They had been blessed because the Kingdom had come to them. 

When John the Baptist, discouraged and in prison sent his disciples to ask Jesus if her was the one, he told them; ‘Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor’ Luke 7: 22.

The sign of the Kingdom (the King’s domain) and of the Messiah, the King was wonderful things happening and good news proclaimed to the poor.

As I have written before God gets a bad press. People are very quick to believe that God is an angry, vindictive God just itching to judge and condemn the world but nothing could be further from the truth. … God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4: 8 – 10.

Jesus was only ever angry with the religious leaders and temple authorities who should have

known better. Right from his birth they stubbornly refused to believe that Jesus was the longed for Messiah. They opposed him who came to bring life in all its fullness. Jesus never was angry, cross or irritated by the poor, ignorant and needy people. He had compassion on them but those who led the people astray into dead religion he condemned.

God is everything that is good and kind. He is gracious, merciful and he showed this by sending his son into the world to show the world just what he is like. Jesus is Emmanuel.

But now as Bill Johnson said: Its all about us becoming a generation who can authentically display who Jesus is. He is the desire of the nations. (Haggai 2: 7). He is what everybody wants they just don’t know it.  The more we represent Jesus as he genuinely is, the more desirable we become to the nations.  Our job is to destroy the works of the devil, just as Jesus did – heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and cleanse lepers (Matthew 10: 8).

So this Christmas as the world turns albeit briefly to remember Jesus let’s be those who represent Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, to the world by doing the things he did and by bringing his presence wherever we go.

Unexpected complications

A recent extensive road trip around South Africa was plagued by things going wrong or not turning out as expected. Time after time, events were just not as planned or anticipated. This led to disappointment and a sense of uncertainty. It has also highlighted some interesting if rather uncomfortable ungodly beliefs.

We did a similar trip 4 years ago and everything went really well. It was a wonderful time with few hiccups. I expected the same this time but even when booking accommodation, nothing worked out as hoped. What we wanted was not available and we had to compromise and juggle all the arrangements. Finally we had a workable itinerary.

However as we travelled we faced all sorts of unexpected challenges often to do with food or weather or an unwelcome number of bugs trying to share our safari tent. Nothing was too bad but after three punctures, two of them out in the bush requiring a wheel change with dangerous animals around I really began to question what was going on.

My first thought was that maybe I had done something wrong or had I sinned? Maybe we shouldn’t have done this trip at all and God was showing his displeasure by not blessing our travels.  It was at this point that I pulled myself up short and realised my mind was on a journey of its own with a dangerous destination.

Does God really only bless us if we do as he wishes? Does God only bless good choices? Of course not! God is good and kind and blesses us all the time whether we deserve it or not. It is a lie to believe that when things are going well God is pleased with you and blesses you but when things are not going well God is displeased with you withholding his blessing. The truth is that you are pleasing to God all the time and God is blessing you in every way that is good for you and will bring forth fruit from your life.

There is no doubt that God uses the bad times, the difficulties, the unexpected, the pain to mould our character and help us trust him. If everything goes swimmingly all the time, we hardly need God but when difficulty upon difficulty piles up we have to lean into God and trust him. When we trust God is doing good even in the midst of problems, troubles, hitches and complications especially unexpected ones, faith and trust in God grows.

Every time something unexpected happens leading to disappointment, even over things as trivial as the weather we need God to set us on our feet again, assure us that nothing has gone wrong because of something we have done or not done. We haven’t sinned – this is just life.  By the way, the disciples had the same problem believing that difficulties came from someone’s sin (Luke 13: 1 -2 and John 9: 1 – 3).

I was reading that it is in the pressure of the cocoon that the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. It is a process that cannot and must not be bypassed or hurried. It is an essential process.

All our unexpected difficulties and experiences led me to realise some ungodly beliefs that I had hidden in my heart that would never have come out or been confronted if everything was going well.  I’ve had to let God soothe my disappointments and show me that things were not that bad. He was always with us in the good and bad days. I can trust him.

After all ‘all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose’ Romans 8:

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Follow my example

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11: 1

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4: 12

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2: 21

In a previous blog (Catch me if you can), I wrote about passing on a spiritual inheritance to the next generation so they can lay hold of what others may have taken much effort and paid a great price to obtain. 

If we are to pass on this spiritual inheritance which can spur those younger in the faith to take the baton and run with it, we need to be those living a life that provides an example to follow and be inspirational. This comes first from an authentic, passionate relationship with Jesus. This is based not on our love for Jesus but on his for us. If it is based on our love it will be a fragile affair but if based on Christ’s powerful, unconditional love it will hold us in the good and bad times.

Everyone’s example can be an inspiration if it mirrors a faith based on a genuine relationship with God. Our daughter-in-law said in her baptismal testimony that she was inspired by a couple: ‘Seeing two people who really gave their lives for their faith resonated with me. It wasn’t something you just say but something you live.’ Another inspirational lady was ‘strong and passionate in her friendship with the Lord.’

A passionate relationship with Jesus is not enough though. It has to flow into a lifestyle that is markedly different to others. It is not enough to be ‘nice’ or ‘kind’. The world is full of people who are not Christians but who are very nice and genuinely kind who do all sorts of amazing things for others.

What should mark out the Christian is a different attitude to every aspect of life – a life that does not take on the world’s values or lifestyles but Christians whose lives are based on a Godly set of values and morals, not spending everything on themselves or pleasure but investing in every way to see God’s Kingdom come. J John says ‘We have not been saved to live as we want to live; we have been saved to live like Christ’.

If we truly want the next generation to follow Jesus more passionately than ourselves, to become people who desire to see his Kingdom come then we must show that our lives are radically different in the way we spend our time, our money and our attitude to others especially when others don’t deal well with us.

Joseph and Daniel both had trouble with those who were their ‘bosses’. Joseph paid a heavy price for refusing Mrs Potiphar’s advances but maintained his moral integrity and ended up in prison. Daniel would not give up his daily prayer schedule and ended up in the lions’ den. Today many Christians face great persecution in their faith. Lions’ dens may have gone out of fashion but being ostracised from family, losing jobs, facing prison, torture and even death are an increasing reality for many Christians.

Learning to follow Jesus example of grace and forgiveness whilst never condoning sin is a wonderful model. I have been inspired to follow the example of both those facing genuine persecution as well as Christians treated shamefully by others. These Christians have maintained their dignity and integrity and have never given up their faith or their determination to do the right thing despite strong provocation. That is authentic Christianity because it follows the example of Jesus.

We all need Godly examples to follow and we all need to be Godly examples. Both those younger in the faith and the world need to see a sincere Christianity that actually works in faith, in deeds and in words. Something that models love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and sacrifice.  Something in fact that looks a bit like Jesus.