The tree is lit. Presents are everywhere. The anticipation is palpable. Dinner is being cooked. I am home alone as I type this. I am in a sort of self-imposed bunker mode as I get ready for CHRISTmas Eve worship this evening going over the notes for my message, getting my heart and mind lined up for God, and enjoying some of the most beautiful CHRISTmas praise and worship music. The thoughts that are swirling in my mind are about how CHRISTmas means HOPE -- hope that love conquers all; hope that we have a future with God; hope that my life will mean something in the end. This hope comes to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us.
While singing a CHRISTmas Carol the other day with my family, I found myself utterly perplexed. We were singing "Away In A Manger," and as we got to the line about how Jesus didn't cry, I really started to wonder if that was true. Sure, I could see how Jesus was capable of transcending the impulse to cry and let his mommy and daddy know what he needed. But I know Jesus was fully divine AND fully human; completely balanced in His dual nature. That being the case, I bet the baby Jesus cried. We know He did when he was older (remember the Bible's shortest verse that tells us "Jesus wept"?), so why would he not cry when he was a baby? This is the natural order of things and exactly what was supposed to happen.
Isaiah 9.6 says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Jesus didn't just appear on the stage at 30-years-old, he was born. He lived life, experienced life, and learned to love God with His life. Babies cry and Jesus was a baby; therefore, I bet baby Jesus cried.
I recently heard of a book that helps parents interpret their child's cries. Apparently, it is possible to interpret the difference between a hurt cry, hungry cry, tired cry, frustrated cry, dirty diaper cry, bored cry, cry to be held, and a cry for the sake of crying. I remember being a parent and learning those cries from Ethan. It was an arduous task in those days, but a time in my life I relish above most others. As often as I was frustrated with his crying (especially in the middle of the night), the sound meant so much to me. His cries reminded me he was there, and since he’s the apple of my eye, that means a ton! Tiffany and I both yearn to hear those cries again. We trust God in our infertility and still have hope that we will be able to experience the multiplication of love that comes from guiding a young life for God. It might sound strange, but to me right now one of the most beautiful sounds in the world is that of a baby crying. It spurns a physical and emotion response in me. What is noise to some is music to my ears; music I pray I hear again coming from within the walls of my own home.
Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to spend the night with my mom celebrating CHRISTmas. My brother, sister, and their families were all there. It was the first time we had all gathered like that since their babies, Charlie Jordan and Drake Houston, were born into the families. We had people scattered everywhere...in every room, on the floor, and on the couches! The place was full of life. And in the middle of the night, as is prone to occur with tiny babies in the place, the stillness was broken with the cries of tiny children in need. Tiffany and I lay in our spot and just listened to the babies cry. To us, it wasn't an annoyance, a frustration, or a cause to get aggravated. Those precious baby boys’ cries were a sign of hope that we, too, can experience the blessings of a new life in our family. Of course the next morning, the babies parents' apologized profusely for the noise and hoped it didn't disturb us. It didn't. To us, it was the sweet sound of hope.
I imagine that as Mary and Joseph, the angels, shepherds, wise men, and everyone else that gathered at the manger who heard the cries of Jesus relished in the beautiful noise. They didn’t likely try to hush him – they were in a barn for crying out loud – because those cries meant something. The cry of Jesus was the sound of hope that God's people had been waiting for over some 700 years from the time Isaiah prophesied that a baby was to be born to bring hope for all the world. God's people were yearning for the sound that would proclaim that not only was hope still alive, but hope was NOW ALIVE. And hope most definitely was alive – it was alive in the person of baby Jesus, Immanuel, Savior of the World.
My prayer as we celebrate CHRISTmas this year that we will keep our ears tuned to the sounds of hope that God has placed in our lives. Hopefully you will be able to find a place of worship this evening or tomorrow to hear the sweet music and the promise of salvation proclaimed. Hopefully you will be able to hear the gleeful laughter of children finding their CHRISTmas wishes granted. Hopefully you'll be able to hear the satisfied sound of moms and dads as they realize they were able to grant the desires of their precious ones' little hearts. And hopefully, you'll be able to pause in the midst of all of our celebrations to again hear the blessed words echo throughout creation that "unto us a child is born and a son given." This, my friends, in the form of a tiny baby crying for the entire world to hear, is the greatest sound of hope. Hope for me. Hope for you. Hope for us all.
Merry CHRISTmas. Know you are loved. May it change your life now and forever!
While singing a CHRISTmas Carol the other day with my family, I found myself utterly perplexed. We were singing "Away In A Manger," and as we got to the line about how Jesus didn't cry, I really started to wonder if that was true. Sure, I could see how Jesus was capable of transcending the impulse to cry and let his mommy and daddy know what he needed. But I know Jesus was fully divine AND fully human; completely balanced in His dual nature. That being the case, I bet the baby Jesus cried. We know He did when he was older (remember the Bible's shortest verse that tells us "Jesus wept"?), so why would he not cry when he was a baby? This is the natural order of things and exactly what was supposed to happen.
Isaiah 9.6 says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Jesus didn't just appear on the stage at 30-years-old, he was born. He lived life, experienced life, and learned to love God with His life. Babies cry and Jesus was a baby; therefore, I bet baby Jesus cried.
I recently heard of a book that helps parents interpret their child's cries. Apparently, it is possible to interpret the difference between a hurt cry, hungry cry, tired cry, frustrated cry, dirty diaper cry, bored cry, cry to be held, and a cry for the sake of crying. I remember being a parent and learning those cries from Ethan. It was an arduous task in those days, but a time in my life I relish above most others. As often as I was frustrated with his crying (especially in the middle of the night), the sound meant so much to me. His cries reminded me he was there, and since he’s the apple of my eye, that means a ton! Tiffany and I both yearn to hear those cries again. We trust God in our infertility and still have hope that we will be able to experience the multiplication of love that comes from guiding a young life for God. It might sound strange, but to me right now one of the most beautiful sounds in the world is that of a baby crying. It spurns a physical and emotion response in me. What is noise to some is music to my ears; music I pray I hear again coming from within the walls of my own home.
Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to spend the night with my mom celebrating CHRISTmas. My brother, sister, and their families were all there. It was the first time we had all gathered like that since their babies, Charlie Jordan and Drake Houston, were born into the families. We had people scattered everywhere...in every room, on the floor, and on the couches! The place was full of life. And in the middle of the night, as is prone to occur with tiny babies in the place, the stillness was broken with the cries of tiny children in need. Tiffany and I lay in our spot and just listened to the babies cry. To us, it wasn't an annoyance, a frustration, or a cause to get aggravated. Those precious baby boys’ cries were a sign of hope that we, too, can experience the blessings of a new life in our family. Of course the next morning, the babies parents' apologized profusely for the noise and hoped it didn't disturb us. It didn't. To us, it was the sweet sound of hope.
I imagine that as Mary and Joseph, the angels, shepherds, wise men, and everyone else that gathered at the manger who heard the cries of Jesus relished in the beautiful noise. They didn’t likely try to hush him – they were in a barn for crying out loud – because those cries meant something. The cry of Jesus was the sound of hope that God's people had been waiting for over some 700 years from the time Isaiah prophesied that a baby was to be born to bring hope for all the world. God's people were yearning for the sound that would proclaim that not only was hope still alive, but hope was NOW ALIVE. And hope most definitely was alive – it was alive in the person of baby Jesus, Immanuel, Savior of the World.
My prayer as we celebrate CHRISTmas this year that we will keep our ears tuned to the sounds of hope that God has placed in our lives. Hopefully you will be able to find a place of worship this evening or tomorrow to hear the sweet music and the promise of salvation proclaimed. Hopefully you will be able to hear the gleeful laughter of children finding their CHRISTmas wishes granted. Hopefully you'll be able to hear the satisfied sound of moms and dads as they realize they were able to grant the desires of their precious ones' little hearts. And hopefully, you'll be able to pause in the midst of all of our celebrations to again hear the blessed words echo throughout creation that "unto us a child is born and a son given." This, my friends, in the form of a tiny baby crying for the entire world to hear, is the greatest sound of hope. Hope for me. Hope for you. Hope for us all.
Merry CHRISTmas. Know you are loved. May it change your life now and forever!
