A Baby Changes Everything

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The headline on a popular online news site caught my attention:


Summer 2014 Was the Worst Ever! From Ferguson to Gaza to Iraq, this summer has been hellish. A recap of three months we’d all rather forget.
(The Daily Beast)

Notwithstanding any of the tragedies, but the summer of 2014 was actually the best summer ever for our family!  On June 22, my daughter and son-in-law gave birth to our first grandchild, Poppy Ja’el Pester.

Our lives changed forever.

There’s a Welsh proverb that says, “Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.”  It’s true.  People have told me that being a grandparent was the ultimate experience.  I have to agree.  Every time I’m with Poppy, or even look at a picture of her, a warmth comes over me that it is indescribable.  One of the most powerful handclasps I’ve ever felt is when she takes hold of my finger.  I believe the idea that no one is perfect is a view most commonly held by people with no grandchildren.

Poppy’s parents took the preparations for her arrival very seriously.  From crib to stroller to car seat, everything is carefully Googled, researched, compared, and discussed.  They left absolutely nothing to chance. (I chuckle a little here because it’s amazing my wife’s and my kids made it at all.  I remember bringing them home from the hospital in my wife’s arms in the front seat!)

This morning my thoughts are about the arrival of Jesus.  What was it like to get that incredible news?  Mary was going to need time.  Time to break the news to Joseph and explain to her parents.  Even though she immediately said yes to God, she needed time to prepare her own heart to become the mother of the Messiah.  And for the people of Israel who had been waiting 500 years for the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise of a Messiah, what was it like to get the incredible news that their savior was born? 

Their lives changed forever.

But change is not easy.  Doing things differently, thinking differently can be very difficult for people.  Forever the people of Israel came to God through priests who vicariously offered their sacrifices.  God was distant.  Untouchable.  But now He lies in the arms of his mother.  Vulnerable.  Precious.  Human.   And as He grew He showed compassion on everyone.  No one was beyond his reach.  He would eventually say, “If you seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”

The writer of Hebrews summed things up this way,


He opened for us a new way, a living way…
(Hebrews 10:20, GNB)

Instead of wondering where God is or if He’s even aware of us.  Instead of hoping we’re good enough to be accepted by God.  Instead of doubting God’s existence, God comes to us.  He’s made Himself known.  And He’s still doing that!  Right now His spirit is with us making an ongoing relationship with God possible.

Like I said, a baby changes everything.

When it comes to Christmas, Kathie is zealous!

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My wife Kathie decorates our house for other seasons (Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving), but those simply serve as a countdown for the Holy Grail of all seasons…Christmas! 

When it comes to Christmas, Kathie is zealous! 

She is always thinking about how to decorate our house, what food she’s going to cook, and what parties she is going to have.  To avoid having people in our neighborhood get their decorations up before us, she has me putting up lights well before Thanksgiving.

A few weeks ago I was outside taking care of the house lights, the placement of the nativity scene, and of course the inflatable Santa.  With my usually Clarke Griswold genius, I figured out the electrical needs using strategically placed photocell timers, as well as refining the correct use of LED lights.  

I went into the house to get Kathie to come out and see my work.  As I entered, I was amazed to see that she had already decorated the tree, and had put up garland, wreaths, lights, candles, and other decorations all over the house.  And there was a fresh baked cookie smell everywhere (not technically impressive, but yummy).

When our RE:gen group came to our house the next night, some of them commented on the outside lights, although nobody seem to notice my strategically placed photocell timers.  But everybody went on and on about the decorations inside our house.  They loved how beautiful the tree and the wreaths and the candles were. And they loved the un-technical smell of fresh baked goodness.

Thinking about Kathie’s passion for Christmas and her approach to decorations reminds me of a conversation the angel Gabriel had with Mary.  When Gabriel had finished telling Mary about how she was going to give birth to the Messiah, we’re told that she was confused and asked, “How can this happen?”  Gabriel answered her with what the prophet Isaiah had said many years earlier:


“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.“
(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Like Mary, have you ever wondered how certain circumstances in your life will ever work out?  Look at those words, “the zeal of the Lord will perform this.”  In other words, God will arrange, plan, and put things together in your life that seem impossible, but his zeal and passion will see that they happen.  

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A Dividing LIne Forever

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Sweetly and almost whispered, the carolers sing into the cold night’s air…

           
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie;
above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years 
are met in thee tonight

Ever wonder about what “hopes and fears” are being referred to in this song?  Quite easily the “hopes” could be summarized in the various titles given to Jesus: the gentle shepherd; the prince of peace; the wonderful counselor.  Our savior.  Our Lord.  God with us.  These, and many more, describe the blessing and hope that has been given to us in Jesus Christ.

But what about the “fears”?  This striking contrast is magnified in light of these words of Jesus…


“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39)

This almost a polar opposite mode of Jesus is further illustrated while performing his first miracle at the prompting of his mother (turning the water into wine at the wedding of Cana), Jesus says to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?” (John 2:4). 

Then even more surprising was Jesus’ harsh response to a Gentile woman who begged him to help her demon-possessed daughter.  Jesus rejects her saying, “It’s not good throw the children’s bread to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26).

And then once again we’re given a seemingly contradictory glimpse into Jesus when told that he went and “fashioned a whip out of cords and drove the people buying and selling out of the temple; and turned over the tables.” (John 2:15)

In the 6th century the modern calendar was developed thereby identifying history either prior to, or after the birth of Jesus Christ. “A.D.” refers to the Latin phrase, “anno Domini” meaning, “in the year of the Lord.”  The significance of this effects more than just record keeping, it designates in a powerful way that when Jesus Christ was born everything changed.

We no longer need to fear if God’s going to do something (even if all the wine is running out).  We no longer need to beg God in hope that he’ll answer (even if we are Gentile mother with a demon-possessed daughter).  And, we no longer need to worry about impressing God with giving or sacrificing (even if people in the temple are offering it to us).

Jesus is a dividing line.  He turns us away from the thinking of this world.  He closes the doors on self-dependence and hope in natural things. And demands that we lose our lives, but promises that in doing so we’ll find them.

The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight…forever!

But I Know His Heart

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They were telling a small group of us what had happened. We could sense their hurt and frustration. We sympathized with them. What made it more personal was that we all knew the person they were talking about. Then someone in our group, who knew the person very well, spoke up,


“But I know his heart. You’re misunderstanding him.”

That simple statement changed the whole conversation. And as it turns out, there was a huge misunderstanding that was eventually worked out.

It’s one thing to know who someone is, and another thing to know his or her heart. When someone says they know a person’s heart, it means they have an intimate understanding of how the person thinks, feels, reacts, what they value, what they like or dislike, etc., and therefore are able to predict what the person would do or say.

Who knows God’s heart?

God’s power is revealed in creation. His holiness is revealed in the law. His awe and splendor are revealed in such descriptions as Isaiah 6, or Revelation 1. But God’s heart is revealed in Jesus.


“No one has ever seen God. But [Jesus], who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18, NLT)

The Jews knew who God was, but they only understood God as distant and unapproachable. The letter had rule. Law, regulation, and sacrifice, were the operative words. But Jesus comes and reveals the grace, love, and tenderness of the Father.

Paul puts it this way,


“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15)

When people talk about why Jesus came to earth, answers often include statements about the “sin problem” and fulfillment of the law, which are true. However, what Paul is describing in Romans 8:15 is something so personal, so compassionate, so incredible, that it causes the recipient to cry out, “Abba Father,” or, “Papa God.”

Jesus called his disciples and he did incredible things with them, but he also ate with them, slept with them, walked with them, talked with them. He then told his disciples,


“I’m going to prepare a place where we can be together forever…and if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:3, 9)

The truth is that Jesus came to earth because it’s God’s heart to be with us, eat with us, sleep with us, walk with us, and talk with us, to live with us!

We need to be reminded of God’s heart because there’s a tendency for us to let law, regulation, and sacrifice creep back into our lives. Things start to become routine and religious, rather than relational and heartfelt. Soon God seems distant and unapproachable. It’s possible to know God and to serve God, but to loose the kind of fellowship He wants to have with you.

So if you’re being tempted to feel like God has distanced Himself from you, you’re misunderstanding Him…I know His heart.