Have you fought with this mercy you don't understand

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:1a, 14)

This is the miracle of Christmas, that God came to earth in the form of a baby who would eventually grow up to be the savior of the world. And to be savior came at a great sacrifice to himself, with Jesus taking on all of the sins of the world. Every sin, little or big, was heaped upon him and he took the punishment. While Christmas is a beautiful and wonderful and joyful time of year, for the arrival of the person who is going to save you is a joyous occasion, this baby was also born for a purpose. If you are looking at the big picture, there should always be a little bit of melancholy associated with the holiday. It is the beginning of the defeat of sin and sin is ugly. It should not surprise us that the cost of its defeat is great. If we could do what is right, we would have no need of Christmas.

We need to learn to live with the mysteries of God. He often works in ways we cannot fathom with our limited human faculties. One of the greatest mysteries is how an omnipotent, omnipresent, holy God, could love us, we sinful, ugly humans, that He was willing to take on human form in order to suffer a horrendous death. For us. So that we would not suffer under our own sin, but be freed from it. We may not understand it, but we can still allow that kind of overwhelming love to wrap around and through us. This Christmas, do not focus solely on Jesus the baby, but remember also Jesus the Savior. If you wish to be free; free from the ugliness you see inside yourself and try to mask with any number of distractions; allow Jesus to love you. He is waiting.

The song Bethlehem Town by Jars of Clay comes very close to expressing some of these ideas.

Oh, Mary, Joseph, rest your eyes 

Try not to think of the ending 

World full of empty, He will die 

But tonight He is still just a child 

The silent night drifts all away 

And the angels are dancing around you 

There's the joy of knowing He'll save the world 

Overshadowing the pain that He'll go through 

Refrain: Have you cursed at the wind 

Have you cried to the heavens 

Have you fought with this mercy you don't understand 

When the wise men kneel down 

To kiss the hand of this king they found in Bethlehem town 

 Will you hold back the years a while 

Will you dream that this man could always be a child 

And never carry all the weight 

Of the dirt and the distance and the company we keep 

Refrain

 And did the stars shine much brighter that night 

You gave birth to the death that would bring us to life 

And did the mystery keep you awake 

Was the sound of His little heart too much to take 

 Oh, i don't understand 

When the wise men kneel down 

To kiss the hand of this king they found 

The Curry Family wishes the peace of Jesus to you and your families this Christmas. Have a blessed holiday.