Messy Christmas!

Not too long ago, I happened to catch an episode of a show that I don’t watch very often. It’s a sit-com. And in this episode the youngish, rich, good looking, ladies man tries to get the girl who happens to be a single mom of a young baby. The bachelor tries to act mature and that he’s up for fatherhood as he’s pursuing the single mom, and yet, in one scene, the mom can hear him on the baby monitor freaking out over a stinky messy diaper. There’s even a classic moment of the bachelor holding the baby out at arms length due to the smelly-ness of the diaper. All in all it is clear that the bachelor is not ready for instant fatherhood and all the responsibility that goes with it.

Here's part of that episode....



And for some random reason, this television show started me thinking about the Christmas story. Jesus. God with us. Jesus giving up His place in heaven, coming to earth and being born, putting on flesh. A baby. I love babies. But babies are messy. And dirty. And they spit up. And they drool. And let’s not even talk about what happens on the other end.

Shortly after seeing this television show and having these random thoughts about what Jesus coming to earth and being born a baby really means, I came across this post. It is a MUST READ. Carrie writes about a stable near her home and challenges my commercialized / American / cleaned up account of the Christmas story.

And it made me think even more about the sacrifice Jesus made by coming here to the mud and the muck and the mess.

When Jesus heard this, he told them,
"Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do.
I have come to call sinners,
not those who think they are already good enough."

Mark 2:17 NLT

I also recently heard a message preached on the Christmas story, with a special focus on the first 17 verses of Matthew which is the lineage of Jesus. He paid particular attention to the five women mentioned in the lineage. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary. Interesting to note that women were mentioned in the lineage of Jesus. These women have some, um, interesting messes in their lives. Some of the highlights: alcohol abuse, incest, prostitution, adultery. And that's just a few of the messes...there's more.

Wow. Sounds like family dysfunction. Sounds messy. Jesus left His place in heaven, and came into our mess. To save us from our mess. And our mess is our message.

Something to think about. Your mess is your message. My mess is my message. Hmmmm.....

Have yourself a Messy Christmas!

Enjoy it and keep your focus on Christ, the best gift of all, and the real reason for the season.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them,
and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them.
They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.
"Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--
has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:9-11 NLT