Life's Lessons (Part 5): Simply Remarkable
Drawn in
Remember the “hot & cold” game you’d play as a kid? Where somebody would have their eyes covered & have to find where you were. They’d start out at a distance (which was considered cold) & then you’d direct them towards you by telling them “warm, warmer, warmest, until they were “hot”—which meant they’d gotten close enough to find you.
That’s the idea that comes to mind when I think of the word “close”.
But this week, I realized how differently closeness can be defined. On the 21st of December, the culmination of the Great Conjunction took place. Meaning Jupiter & Saturn were aligned more closely than they have been in hundreds of years. And since this happened on the first official day of winter, the intersection of these two planets became nicknamed the “Christmas Star”.
Between the unique nickname & the timing itself, I couldn’t help but do a little digging. Since this event was visible to the naked eye, the uneducated astrologist in me assumed that these planets had to be pretty close. But as it turns out, they’re still hundreds of millions of miles apart.
What a contrast to the events that led to Christmas Day. The day in which closeness took on a whole other level. The day an infinite God chose to enter our world as an infant.
The day His son Jesus was born.
Whatever distance remained between us & God was changed forever. Jesus would go on to walk the same earth that you and I do today. Breathe the same air that we breathe. He was so close in fact, that God told us that His name would be “Immanuel”, meaning—
god with us.
At a time where distancing has been made such a priority, many of us have lost sight of our deep, spiritual need for closeness. Closeness with one another & with God Himself. Christmas is a reminder that God drew near to us, so we could draw near to Him.
It’s a reminder that we don’t have to settle for an obstructed view of the things worth seeing. It’s an opportunity to take a closer look at God. To see & appreciate firsthand, that with God—
there’s always more than meets the eye.
the God of THE Unforeseen
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NIV)
God is often notorious for being a rule-breaker in light of the world’s conventional wisdom. For instance, we’ve been told to never “never send a boy to do a man’s job”. So what does God do? He sends a baby instead. God takes the biggest job on earth (restoring humanity) and lays it on a newborn. And while Jesus is the ultimate example of God turning wisdom upside down, it’s far from the only one.
He had Noah build an ark in a world that’d never seen rain. He sent a shepherd boy to overcome Israel’s giant enemy, Goliath. His son Jesus touched the untouchable, healing people with leprosy. The list goes on & on.
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?”
When He’s behind us, it doesn’t matter what’s in-front of us. God is the King of righting-wrongs. Taking all that’s wrong in your story & using it to reveal His righteousness & faithfulness to conform all things for our good. He is the God of the Unforeseen, making a way—
even when you don’t see one.
The one god for all people
Normally when you think of the story of Christmas, it’s a tender image. “Silent night, holy night”, followed by a sweet baby resting in a manger. And while that’s a beautiful picture of that night, it’s also incomplete. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but He didn’t enter a peaceful world. Just take a look at Romans 8:3-4 (MSG):
“God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son.
He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.”
He was sent into an awful world that was deserving of an awful punishment. That’s why God went for the jugular. That’s why Jesus intervened on our behalf.
If you want a summary of the Christmas Story, you can find it at the end of the verse. It’s the story of the one God acting on behalf of all people. For me & for you. Giving His life so that we could have life—
once and for all.
a simple embrace
Romans 8:4 (MSG):
“…What the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.”
What are you doubling-down on right now? God makes it clear, redoubling your own effort is a lost cause. It’s a choice to reject what’s been accomplished, in pursuit of the unaccomplishable.
Recognize what God’s Spirit is doing. He’s drawing you back to Him. Gently reminding you that Jesus’ victory is your victory. That you’re not designed to do this life alone. That your greatest call is to surrender it all, to a God whose love for you is greater than you’ll ever know. To a God who is—
simply remarkable.
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today’s Takeaways
God is with us
How can you lose with god on your side?
Embracing god > Your effort