“Our response to the supernatural should be humility and awe, not an arrogant grasp for God’s knowledge and God’s power…I’ve reconciled myself to the supernatural by seeking God’s grace, not God’s power.” David French
When the magi and the shepherds left the manger in Bethlehem, I wonder what they did next. The most likely answer to that question is….nothing different. They didn’t quit their jobs and move to Bethlehem, follow the new family to Egypt or back to Nazareth. They went back to the fields with their flocks. They went back to their job as ambassadors and advisors in palaces. They simply when on with their lives, but something was different for sure. Now they knew that someone was doing something about the way things were in the world. A good king was born and:
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
Because of this, because of Him, all their efforts and labors took on a new meaning and purpose. They were in service to Him and what He was doing. Like the women who would financially support His ministry decades later, their works were now supporting His work at making all things new. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
One of the great messages of Christmas is the gift that God has come to the rescue. I do not have to save the world, for He has. I do not have to heal all the wounded, He will. I do not have to “fix” anything, not even myself — as the old VBS song reminds us, “He’s still working on me.” This isn’t to say we do not participate in these efforts with Him, only that we aren’t responsible, we aren’t the catalyst or the driving engine. It’s not my job to fix anything or anyone. Isn’t that liberating and comforting? So many times I’ve tried to make myself someone’s savior and every time I’ve failed miserably and been left exhausted and guilt ridden that I hadn’t succeeded. No more. My calling is to hear the voice of my Shepherd and follow Him. The boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish didn’t feed thousands of people, Jesus did. All the boy did was show up and serve Jesus. The friends on the rooftop didn’t heal their friend, they just made sure He came in contact with Jesus. The desperate father whose son was vexed with a demon did not cast anything out — Peter, Andrew, James, John, none of the apostles accomplished anything either. The best decision any of them made was to bring the boy to Jesus and cry out “Help!”
When Jesus began calling people to “come unto me” His call was to “take my yoke upon you and learn of me.” It’s been explained to me that His reference is to that of training a young ox by yoking it to an older, stronger ox. The yoke would be cinched up tight on the older ox, but it was hang loose on the young one. The old ox was the one pulling all the weight of the load, the young ox was merely walking alongside him and learning.
It is liberating to be reminded that God has not called any of us to save, fix, heal, or change the world. He simply says follow me…learn from me. As He hung on the cross dying, those who loved Him most could only stand by helpless and watch. But what they were watching was Him save the world and He didn’t need them to do anything. Three days later, it wasn’t the apostles who rolled away the stone, they merely came to the garden where He was and witnessed His glory.
Listen to His words to them not 72 hours before:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
I am the true vine….not you.
My Father is the gardener…not you.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you…not because of anything you’ve done.
You cannot bear fruit apart from me…no matter how much you do.
Apart from me you can do nothing.
These words aren’t meant to frighten, or threaten, or humble, they are meant to comfort. This is the gift of Christmas.
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