GOD'S CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Joshua 22:21-23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19

“Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised.”

“And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.”

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
They exult in your righteousness.
 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.
Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.”

It’s nearly Christmas. Each year around this time, anticipation builds, right up until the day of the Big Event… which never quite seems to live up to the hype commercialism throws at it or the deeply spiritual connection with the God of all the Universe it claims to offer. This year, for the first time in my 50+ years – maybe, in part, because of the project this journal has become – I am beginning to understand why Christmas Day is so often anti-climatic. Perhaps we don’t get all the gifts God wills for us at Christmas simply because we are so busy focusing on the event that we miss the ongoing experience.

As I read today’s quoted Scriptures and reflect back over the last almost four months (nearly one-third through the Bible, folks!), I am frankly amazed at the changes the Spirit has brought into my life. I have come from the dust of burnout and the empty shell of cosmetic Christianity into what truly is a new life of inspiration, boldness and gratitude (though, certainly, more work on all three remains to be done). There have been the usual highs and lows. Actually, that’s not true; both the highs and the lows have seemed more intense lately, but then, so has everything about life, and that’s more than OK. It proves I’m alive again. All this is, as far as I can tell, primarily the result of just being disciplined enough to do this little exercise every day. I honestly don’t know why. I cannot explain the cause-effect relationship. But just like the Spirit itself, the fact I cannot explain has nothing to do with the reality of its existence, or what I know in my heart to be true. So, I have been richly blessed.

But something else is going on, too. I am getting overwhelmed by how much blessing and grace I routinely leave on the table, just because I do not have the audacity to claim it. There is a sense Christ Himself is offering more than I ever dreamed or imagined. So last weekend, I took a huge risk, as I felt led. Some of the finest Christian brothers and sisters anyone could ever know journeyed with me right to (and some would say well over) a spiritual cliff. Understanding we can never accept the Gift or gifts of Christmas if our hands, however subconsciously, are clenched in anger at God, they graciously allowed me to role play a father devastated by the molestation and murder of his daughter. Then, I took questions… still in the role of the father. There was no script for that! Several watching had lives much closer to our unspeakable fiction than I pray I ever will. The questions were real, and cut no slack. Meddling into others’ tragedies and emotions so close to the heart while presuming to have any idea how people in that position truly felt was beyond uncomfortable. I simply was not worthy. But the Lord led anyway, and new compassion and hope was shared. One strong prayer warrior had the courage to disengage and just pray for us for the entire hour. I was spooked badly by the call of God, grateful for the charity and empathy of the group and absolutely astonished by the power and healing that flowed into and through the room. We totally missed some people, and I could not be happier for them. But in others, God began a work of Christmas reconciliation, painful as it was, and that was a far better thing, well worth the risk and discomfort.

So, I come to the Scriptures today with new ears and eyes. Christmas Day is just a door. The true blessings come only when we walk through it and have the gumption, discipline and audacity to walk with Jesus during the scorching days of August and the frigidity of January. We will never know in advance how blessed we truly are. We can only experience the astonishing cornucopia of God’s grace and love by living in it and depending absolutely on it with a no-holds barred desperation.