Monthly Archive for December, 2008

At different points in my life I’ve spent time waiting for something to happen, so something else could happen.  For example, “I’ll start jogging when the weather cools down.” … “I’ll save money once I begin earning a little more.” … “I’ll work on that relationship after he admits he was wrong.” … or – my favorite – “I’ll accomplish _______________ (fill in the blank) as soon as things slow down a bit.”  All of these, I’ve come to realize, are simply excuses, and certainly unproductive.

The Bible character Simeon was waiting for something.  He was waiting to see the Messiah.  He knew that once Jesus was born, His parents would have to bring Him to the temple to offer sacrifices in fulfillment of the law.  So he hung out there and waited.

One day it happened.  Here came Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  How Simeon knew that this baby, like so many others he’d seen while standing at the temple and waiting, was the savior of the world, I have no idea.  But he knew.  And once Simeon had seen Jesus, he declared that he could finally move on with his life.

Many of the circumstances I face today would play out much differently if I could first intersect with Jesus.  Jesus brings hope, grace and clarity of vision to dispel the fear, condemnation and confusion that so often hinder my progress.

What am I waiting for?  I think I should put all the other “waiting fors” aside and say – “I’m waiting for Jesus to enter this situation.”  Like Simeon, I guess I’ll know, somehow, when He does.  And then I’ll also know what to do.

I went to a party last Friday night.  Since it’s the middle of December, I suppose you could call it a Christmas party.  It was held at someone’s home, and about eleven people showed up.

A few hours into the evening I looked around the room.  There were conversations going on everywhere.  They ebbed and flowed.  They changed participants and changed subjects.  They covered sports, politics, life after death, business, jobs, the spiritual journey, desert recipes, wine, how to know the will of God, finances, marriage, the authenticity of scripture, friendships, health, the second coming of Christ, college, sickness, angels, and a lot of other things I didn’t overhear.  I was nearly breathless with the glory of it.

Jesus said that whenever there’s a party and He’s invited, He’ll be there.  I believe I saw that promise fulfilled on Friday night.  Nobody called a meeting to order… nobody said “Let’s open in prayer.”  We just experienced each other, and the Jesus in each other.  We enjoyed ourselves as He enjoyed Himself.

“The spirit searches all things,” the Bible tells us, “even the depths of God.”  In that simple house last Friday, the miraculously-conceived Son of God in me searched for the miraculously-conceived Son of God in others.  When they came in contact, the babies jumped with excitement, as John did in Elizabeth’s womb a couple thousand years ago.  I felt that on Friday.

This was indeed a Christmas party… in the most real sense I can imagine.  God with us.  Emmanuel.  Merry Christmas.

One of the puzzles that skeptics like to pose to believers in God is this…  “You say that God can do anything.  Can God create a rock so big that He can’t lift it?”  As someone smarter than me once pointed out – yes, He can.

John’s gospel tells us that Jesus made everything.  He and the Father were one in creation.  We are also taught in the Bible that this same Jesus became a human, and in fact a baby.

We see then, that the helpless baby is the creator of the universe, including the planets, which are sometimes called “rocks.”  No human, much less a baby, can lift a planet.

Can God create a rock so big that He can’t lift it?  No problem… He already has.