"You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net than you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising pursuing love of God made present in the manger" Brennan Manning
I recently awoke in the middle of the night to a dream that haunts me during December—it’s Christmas Eve, everyone had gone to bed and only Santa (that would be me) is awake, assembling the stockings for his four children and Mary. In this dream I’m not prepared! I don’t have enough to fill each stocking and the stores are all closed.
What has happened to my mind! Where does this dream come from and how have I lost sight of why the world celebrates Christmas?
We have a Christmas tradition in our home. I create a magical stocking for each of my children. Each stocking is crafted as an act of love to reflect their passions and interests in life from one year to the next. Now, over 20 years later my kids still talk about “Dad’s stockings” and what will this year hold? Guys you understand, that’s a lot of pressure!
My family's stocking tradition began over 20 years ago. Christmas; however, began over 2,000 years ago on a cold night in primitive Palestine in a manger or a cave. Tradition says a baby was born in a most miraculous way—his mother was a virgin!
Pause for a moment—I’m not going to preach to you here—I just want you to make room in your heart this Christmas season to ponder the thought of the miraculous. Is there more to Christmas than reindeer, snowmen and presents? Is it possible that there is more to this world than meets the eyes?
We like to think we have everything figured out. But when you head out for a day of fishing on your favorite lake, river or ocean what do you see? You see the water’s surface but what about the world below? While electronics can help us understand the unseen, do we really see the world below the surface?
Like the waters we love, could life be filled with unseen realities and mysteries? Could there be a spiritual dimension? Could this spiritual dimension intersect with our physical world?
I want to challenge you this Christmas. Pause, if even for only a few minutes, and think about Christmas on a cosmic level. Ask yourself, is it possible that this story, the miraculous birth, is true? Did God overshadow the Virgin Mary and plant the seed of his son, Jesus, in her womb? Did Jesus, the Ancient of Days, really give up his heavenly glory and submit himself to the human journey of birth, life and ultimately death (a really gruesome and painful death!)?
If this is remotely possible, then ask yourself why? Why would God do this? While people have debated this for generations, the Bible simply says that For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
While I look forward to Christmas and the traditions my family has created, I also seek quiet moments to ponder the mystery of the season. The mystery of the astounding love of a perfect, all-powerful God who loves his world enough that he would pursue his creation through the human journey.
Brennan Manning describes this mystery well when he said “You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net than you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising pursuing love of God made present in the manger.”
As you ponder the thought of the miraculous this season ask yourself, " is there more to this story? Does Jesus wants to reveal more of himself to you in this season." When Jesus walked the dusty roads of Palestine he used to ask his closest friends who they thought he was. I challenge you to ask Jesus who he is. You just might be surprised what Jesus has in store for you