Skip to main content

CHRISTMAS MEANS GOD WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES


Soon many of us will be doing those things that signal the approach of Christmas – shopping, sending cards, buying and decorating trees and hosting friends and family.  With so much to do during this time of year, it's easy to forget what Christmas really means.

I know – that's a cliché.  It's true, though.

Take a few moments with me in this article and consider what God did to make Christmas a reality for us.

Christmas is all about God entering the world as a human being and starting were we all start – as a baby.

Granted, many of us have heard about the baby Jesus being God-in-the-flesh.  How often have we stopped and actually thought about what that meant for God?

Quite frankly, birth doesn't look like a very pleasant experience.  God went through that.  Why?

Babies often have runny noses.  Did God have a runny nose?  I believe that Christmas says, “Yes.”  It doesn't seem like a very dignified thing for the Creator of the universe to have.  Why would God go through that?

Babies grow up into children, and children grow up into adults.  The transition can sometimes be awkward.  Can you picture God as a teenager?  Somehow, I have a very hard time picturing God as a sixteen-year-old.  Christmas says, “Picture it!”  Why would God go through that?

Adults go to work.  Jesus went to work.  Jesus was a carpenter.  Carpenters hammer nails.  Carpenters often miss.  God-in-the-flesh knew the pain of a hammer.  Why would God go through that?

(Maybe you're asking yourself right now, “Being fully divine as well as fully human, was it even possible for Jesus to miss a nail when hammering?”  Let me just say: You're thinking way too theologically at this point!)

Why would God go through any of what it meant to become fully human?

The answer to that question turns out to be very simple: God wants us to know how much we are loved by God and how much God wants to have a relationship with us.

We're humans.  We understand things on a human level.  To communicate with us in a way we could comprehend, God became one of us.  In so doing, God experienced things that we might consider below God’s dignity – the shock of birth, the discomfort of a cold and the blow of a hammer, just to name a few.    God is willing to do whatever it takes for us to have a clear picture of what God is like – a picture we find in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  (Yes, God is even willing to go to the length of experiencing death for us!)

As you wish people a merry Christmas this year, pause and reflect on why any of us should be merry this time of year.  Christmas means that God is reaching out to you – whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you've done, whatever you haven't done – and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring you close – all through the One whose birth is at the very heart of the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!  God is willing to do whatever it takes to forgive you, claim you and change your life in amazing ways – whatever it takes!  Come and celebrate this incredible reality at the Newtown United Methodist Church this Christmas and all year long!

Pastor Blaik Westhoff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Receiving, Opening, and Using the Greatest Gift   This is the season when we celebrate the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ, sent to be the salvation of all humanity and the entire created order! Christmas reminds us that, even during the most difficult of circumstances, God is among us to bring us healing and hope, and to show us the way forward. Through the gift of Jesus, God gathers us together as a congregation meant to worship and serve in the name and power of our Savior. Even as circumstances have required us to rethink almost every aspect of our mission and ministry, God has consistently gifted to us what we need to continue to be a faithful and vital church!   We continue to offer high-quality worship in three ways – live in our sanctuary, through livestreaming and through a recorded version of the live service available on our website (www.newtownumc.com) and Facebook page. We continue to offer meaningful ministries to children and their families both online and
Post a Comment
Read more
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN?   CONSIDER THE FOUR L’S! The mission statement of the Newtown United Methodist Church is “Helping Christians Grow and Growing New Christians.”   This statement raises a very important question: What does it mean to be a Christian?   Arriving at a shared understanding of what makes a Christian a Christian is crucial for us at NUMC if we’re going to fulfill our mission! One understanding of what it means to be a Christian is that a Christian is a disciple of Jesus.   The word “disciple” is based on a word which means “a pupil of a teacher” or, simply, “a learner.”   Jesus said that we are to be making disciples (see Matthew 28:16-20).   Another understanding of what it means to be a Christian is that a Christian is one who follows Jesus.   Jesus also said that we are meant to follow him (see Matthew 16:24-26).    Another understanding is that a Christian is a miniature version of Jesus or “a little Christ” (which is the literal meaning of th
Post a Comment
Read more

Gifts Given for Divine Purposes (Luke 1:26-38)

  This post exists to help you answer the profound and pressing question (which, I’m sure, is on your mind or at least will be in a moment): What do Mary the mother of Jesus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and you all have in common?  This question is so compelling, you will keep running it over and over in your mind, searching for the answer, even as you continue to read!  Have you ever received a gift that really was for the benefit of the person who gave it to you?   Have you ever received a waffle iron from someone in your family who likes waffles (and you are the one who makes breakfast)?   Gifts like that are given for the purpose of the giver, not the receiver.  In a way, many of the gifts God gives are like that.   Throughout the Bible, when God gives someone something, it is usually for the fulfillment of a purpose God has in mind. Many of the gifts God gives are for God’s purposes.   Often, people who receive such gifts from God are not too happy about receiving them – at
Post a Comment
Read more