The God Who Was Born
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called:
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
I am afraid that we have become immune to the startling reality of those verses. We are so familiar with the fact that God, THE God, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father was born into our world as one of us we are no longer surprised by it. Yet it is the most unexpected and astounding event of earth’s history. No other religion considers such a thing to be possible. John Stott, a British pastor and theologian said, “there is nothing in any of the non-Christian religions to compare with this message of a God who loved, and came after, and died for, a world of lost sinners.”
The birth of God is the theme of Christmas. It is the central message of many of our carols. And it is appropriate that we celebrate his birth and find it to be a reason for joy. That’s a good thing, but is it an adequate response for such an astounding event? Someone has said that if the Mighty God really did become the God-man and live among us, there are only three possible responses to him. The first would be to hate him to the point of trying to kill him because he could destroy our “right” to rule ourselves. And that was, in fact, what happened to Jesus. The second response would be to fear him and run from him because his righteous judgement could condemn us and consume us. Moses, Isaiah, and the apostle John each were terrified when confronted by God and would have run had he not reassured them and compelled them to stay.
The only other possible and reasonable response to the God who was born is to submit to him, to give over to him, in totality, every aspect of your life, unreservedly, for all of your life. This is what Jesus demanded when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves…if you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:24,25) Jesus does not call us to a sloppy half-heartedness, but to a vigorous, absolute commitment. It is this response that will give meaning and weight to your Christmas celebrations and the carols you sing.
Will you pause often in these days of Christmas to reflect on how astounding it is that the Mighty God was born? And will you use your Christmas celebrations to wholeheartedly submit to or to renew your submission to Jesus, the God-man?