A Christmas Gift
December 23 2002
In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey
asks a penetrating question: If Jesus came to reveal God to us,
then what do I learn about God from that first Christmas?
Among things we see that God is humble. Jesus
could have come riding a bolt of lightening or surrounded by a
flaming tornado. The sky could have literally cracked open and
he could have stepped through. Instead, God came as a tiny
infant who could not control his bladder, feed himself, lift his
head off the straw or guard himself from danger. He could have
been stepped on by a donkey or crushed by an ox. Jesus' well
being rested in the hands of two Jewish teenagers.
Paul noted the humility of God when he wrote,
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness"
(Philippians 2:5-7).
I can't help but wonder why God demonstrated such
humility. And then I realize he wants us to know that he's
approachable. For years we lived in a house with a deck off our
bedroom. My writing desk sat just inside the sliding glass door
and I used to feed some squirrels. Over time one of them felt
safe enough to eat from my hand. Suppose I wanted to get even
closer to the squirrels than that. For that to happen I would
have to become a squirrel myself. That would be an
incomprehensible step which no man would take, even if he could.
Yet, the step down I would take in becoming a squirrel would
pale when compared with the step God took in becoming a baby.
Babies are approachable. When a mother pushes a
crib in a shopping mall, strangers will gather around to coo and
caress the baby. At Christmas, when we see images of baby Jesus
in a manger, we too want to draw close. We want to touch him.
This Christmas as you contemplate the birth of
Jesus--take a step closer to God. You're safe with him. As safe
as you would be with a baby.
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