Last night, while I was cleaning my room, I had my nephew cozily sit on a corner to watch Superbook, an animated series that educates children by teaching them Bible stories. The episode he chose to watch was The First Christmas. It felt weird to watch something about Christmas as early as May :))
I was supposed to clean the mess in my room but I slithered beside my nephew to watch the show for a few minutes.
In the story, Chris, Joy, and Gizmo had been teleported to the time when the first Christmas happened. To Chris’ dismay, the first Christmas, the thing that all started our tradition of merrymaking and gift-giving – wasn’t all that he had expected it to be.
No shimmering lights.
No fancy decorations.
No Rudolf.
No Santa Claus.
Not everything he considered Christmas-y.
As the story progressed, he saw no looming ray of hope, only the doom of despair. Mary was just moments away from giving birth and with no place to stay, and other unfortunate events, Chris can’t help but ask
Joseph….
What if you’re wrong?
What if God doesn’t come through?
And his angst only grew…
Isn’t this bothering anyone else but me?
I want to help.
I want to believe.
But if Mary’s is giving birth to the son of God,
Why isn’t God helping us a little bit, Joy?
My nephew was glued to the screen but I sheepishly cried on the side. I found myself asking the same thing for a moment.
I see in kids the bravery of asking questions
we’re afraid to ask ourselves.
And the thing is, those are not just some kid’s questions, those are OUR questions – not of those who don’t believe but those who may even genuinely love God but find themselves in a constant internal rift of having to say “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”
These are hard questions not just because of the questions themselves, but because behind it is someone who asks, embittered with pain, plagued with a longing for answers we know only God could give.
When I think about delivering a baby in a stable, all I could think of is…. that is inhumane. Shouldn’t Jesus be born in a five-star hospital with the best facilities? Shouldn’t He be born like that of a celebrity’s baby – internationally covered and broadcasted? If He’s the son of God, why did he not make much of his earthly entrance, so at least, it would have impressed us just one bit?
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form – Philippians 2: 5:7
And then Jesus was born, not in ways we expected, but just how God meant it to be.
In a stable
on a manger
in swaddling clothes.
This is the simplicity of the nativity, but the glorious joy of mankind. So the next time, we find ourselves in similar situations – in a stable of hopelessness, on a manger of despair, and in swaddling clothes of shame, remember that…
We have a God who comes through for us, maybe not in ways we expect, but He does so, every time.
“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Thinking Millennial 