students of jesus

Among the gifts of the Christ Child is the tension of his birth. God becomes man--not only a man, but a child. Centuries-old promises are fulfilled before our eyes, but we do not see them. Joseph adopts a son, who will later adopt him. Perfection comes wrapped in scandal. The Lord of glory came with very little glory at all.

Two weeks ago I sat with earnest young disciples who eagerly embraced the tension of God’s Kingdom: ever close, ever appearing, yet awaiting the full light of day. Together we explored that tension in scripture, and together we reflected on that same tension in our own lives.

“In what way has God’s Kingdom appeared in your life?” asked our young leader. “And in what ways do you wait for his appearing?” I didn’t get a chance to share my answers that evening, but this Christmas Eve I share them with you now.

God’s Kingdom has come! He has broken into my life: I'm grateful for his daily appearing in my family: where I am loved and forgiven, where I am known yet still embraced. This family is large and growing, beyond my wildest expectation. I'm grateful for the miracles I’ve seen: he has partnered with me in prayer for the sick, who are healed. I've witnessed the deaf receiving again their hearing; the barren conceiving children, and degenerative diseases rolled away. Eternal life, the with-God kind of life, does not begin some future day. I live in that eternal life here and now.

God’s Kingdom is yet to come! Together, with all who long for his appearing, I confess: I long to see his coming in me--when I will no longer be driven by the lash of fear or suspicion or the desire to put myself above others. I long to see his coming in the lives of my neighbors, so many of whom are captive to Xanax, OxyContin, alcohol, or weed, self-medicating their disillusioned lives. I long to see his coming when injustice is exposed for what it is, and the both the oppressed and the oppressors are set free from their bondage. I long to see the earth unfold in its glory, the glory reflected in God’s deep words over creation, “Behold it was all very good.”

God came to earth and lived incognito among us for 30 years. When at last he revealed himself we could not bear the glory: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:10-12)

My Christmas wish is the same for you and me. It lives in the tension as well: that we would all receive our birthright, and discover more of his Kingdom, and of its increase there would be no end.

When really important people come to town, everyone one knows it. NBA stadiums sell out months before LeBron or Kobe show up for game time. When Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson do a personal appearance, hundreds of screaming fans will show up hours ahead of time. When the President visits your city, you can be sure the mayor will meet him at the airport and school children will be there to give the first lady flowers.

But the Christmas story shows us God does things differently. You might even call his way sneaky. The most important person in the history of the world snuck into town late one night and definitely did not stay in a five-star hotel. Jesus was smuggled into Bethlehem through the womb of a teenage girl, who gave birth in a barn. That’s different.

We all know the story of Christmas: the baby, the barn, the shepherds and magi. Hidden inside that familiar story is the surprising revelation that God’s way is to ignore the bigshots and use nobodies instead. Just count the nobodies:

Mary was a teenage girl from a small town. In Bible times women were not important people, and teenagers were even lower on the scale. Mix in her pre-martial pregnancy, and you’ve got a real nobody on your hands. But Mary was God’s choice. She conceived the baby Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. God considered her somebody important and gave her a pretty tough assignment!

Joseph was a nobody, too. He was just a working man across town from Mary’s family. He was faced with a choice between trusting God or protecting his small-town reputation. But reputations belong to important people, and most of the important people were in Jerusalem. Joseph said “yes” to shame, yes to love, and yes to God, so God chose Joseph to act as a foster-father to the Savior of the world.

Shepherds are not important people. Just the opposite: second-shift schmucks who work outdoors. Back in that day watching sheep was not exactly a rock-star kind of gig. Yet they were the first guests invited to the celebration.

The Magi? Nothing more than rich pagan astrologers. It didn’t matter if they had money, they were foreigners. Foreigners have the wrong religion, the wrong clothes, and the wrong sacred books. Elizabeth &

Zechariah & Elizabeth: a kindly old couple engaged in harmless religious activity. They are the kind of people society ignores—unless they are driving too slow on a the highway. Anna & Simeon: Alone and elderly, they were two people almost completely invisible to everyone. Everyone except the Holy Spirit.

One and all, God used people on the outside of society.

The secret message inside the Christmas story? God invites the nobodies. And when God invites you to the table, he provides everything you need. The powerful people, the beautiful people, and the cool kids might not make it to the celebration. They’re welcome, but they might be too busy building their own kingdoms. Meanwhile God’s kingdom is filling up with the people no one notices.

This season, if you are a nobody—rejoice! You are not far from the Kingdom of God.

This is the introduction from my Christmas devotional, 25 Days of Christmas. It's probably a little late for this year, but mark it down for next: 25 one-minute devotions to prepare you for Christmas.

This Christmas I’ve published a 25-Day devotional, one for each day in December. Each one is drawn from the scripture, because even though these holiday stories are familiar, they are still the word of God to us, capable of teaching and guiding us through life. And because the burden of Christmas makes us busier and more prone to stress, each meditation is designed to be read in a minute--and provide something to consider all day long.

The eBook is available over at Amazon.com, but here’s a sample page:

From the Life of Joseph:

DAY TWELVE

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19)

The narrative shows us what a righteous man looks like. In his confusion and pain, Joseph’s first concern was for Mary. How many of us would have this priority? Perhaps this is why the scripture labels him a “righteous man.” Joseph's righteousness is rendered not in terms of his relationship to God, but in terms of his relationship to Mary. True righteousness extends two directions—toward God and toward others.

At last: A Christmas devotional for incredibly busy people.

Each day in December, in one minute or less, you can capture a concept that will enrich your journey toward Christmas day. Everyone's busy--and the holidays only add to the list of things to do. Yet Christmas is something more than a celebration of an event from long ago or modern holiday centered around shopping.

God is still speaking through the Christmas story: the gospel narratives centered around the birth of Jesus are filled with encouragement and revelation concerning the love of God and his wisdom for us today.

This practical eBook format means you can catch a devotional moment on the go: from your e-Reader, at your desktop, holding your tablet, or on your phone. If you can create enough space to read these one-minute devotions, you can carry their thoughts and ideas with you the rest of the day.

Available for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Apps.