I Believe

"Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"   Isaiah 53:1

We are now full throttle into the holiday season. I don't know about your neighborhood, but little lighted angels have popped up on the lawns in my community this week, trumpeting and twinkling in the dusk.    Christmas, with all its beauty and twinkling lights, presents to us one vital question: Are we going to believe this unbelievable Christmas story or not? Do we believe there was a baby, Savior of the World, born in a dirty cattle trough?    Unbelievable! That's how many people view the Christmas story--as if it were some fairytale children's story, way too simple for our sophisticated, rational minds. I disagree.  We've been talking about vulnerability on Monday nights and it got me thinking... Being vulnerable is usually spoken of in terms of our human relationships, how important it is to be able to share who you are with those you love and with those who love you. We all know that emotional vulnerability is a key to any meaningful relationship. In fact, it is essential. One cannot stand back with arms crossed and enter into a fulfilling intimate relationship. We must be willing to be vulnerable.   But what about relationship with God? And what does this have to do with Christmas?   Christmas is all about God, through Jesus, putting on skin, walking among men, becoming human, a mere man. And as he was born into the world on that night, he took it upon himself to be--you guessed it--vulnerable. He, King of the Universe, made himself dependent upon a young girl for food and care. Hmm. Vulnerable.    Christ, in becoming man, did not cease to be God. He didn't lose his position or his divine attributes; he voluntarily set them aside to take on our humanity in all its ugliness and depravity. Vulnerable.   Scripture tells us that Jesus would be a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. One whose hands and feet are scarred. One who was despised and rejected by man. Vulnerable.   As the Christ poured himself out for us, he did not stand back at a distance with arms crossed. From the very moment he entered this earth until the day he left it, he willingly made himself vulnerable. It speaks to me of relationship. It models to me humility. I believe God meant it to be that way. I challenge you this year to embrace the love story that is Christmas: God putting on skin and becoming vulnerable for our sake. Believe!  Greg