“Stable” – ity
Hey, It’s Christmas. Just in case you had not noticed…I mean given that the decorations have been up in the malls and stores since around October!
Churches are having cantatas. (What is a cantata anyway?) Children are singing. Stores are lined with green and red. Political correctness reigns over conversations of happy hannakuh, christmas, holidays, whatever.
(And somebody is going to comment on my use of capitalization in the blog, or lack thereof, but whatever)
I love Jesus. I don’t always act like I love Jesus. But, nevertheless, I love Jesus. And to be quite honest I do not love him any more or any less this time of year. Not at all. He knows that. And he loves me back. It’s really quite a cool deal. But I am thinking Jesus feels quite a flood of emotions over the holidays. The giving, taking, spending, attending, partying, etc. Churches are packed out. Why? I dunno either I just thought I would ask. But they are. And we celebrate and shout our numbers out and talk about the reason for the season. It makes me quite happy…and nauseous all in the same breath. The truth of some and the guilt of others. The genuineness of the children and feelings of obligation of adults. Ah well, was that rant fun or what?
Considering Christmas, and not to come off as some sort of scrooge-a-licious blogger, I want to talk quickly about an unsung hero of the day. One of the left out. Not Mary, though she rocks. Not Joseph, the shepherds, or the wise men…all cool. Not the star, Bethlehem, or the angels either. I want to talk about the stable. The cave/barn type place that ended up being the UPS store for the delivery of God’s most amazing gift.
Since I have been blessed with the opportunity to weekly (and sometimes very weakly) minister to a special group of people on a regular basis, I have considered, prayed, discerned over, and just plain wrestled with what the body (church family) of Christ is, should be, looks like, feels like, etc. And I find a lot of similarities between what I think the church ought to be and what happened that night at the stable.
First, as mentioned above, the stable was the delivery place of the greatest gift. God’s son, the savior of the world, the one who would be the greatest gift for all men of all time was granted to us here…in the stable. The church should be that way too don’t you think? Known first and foremost for delivering the incredible, never ending, never failing, gift that is Jesus Christ the son of God to all the world. Yeah, that would be cool. Everyone who shows up just knows that Jesus is there. Sweet!
Two..have you checked out the type of people who got to snuggle up with God in the flesh at that place. it was Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, wise men, cows, oxen, sheep, goats, maybe a mouse or two. Yeah, it was predominately animals, a couple of smart outcasts who by the time they got to Jesus could not go back home, a teenage unwed mom, and a carpenter who was marrying a girl who just had a baby via God and was still a virgin in a barn. This whole thing is wierd ya know? But to me, church would be cool if we accepted the ones we call animals, the outcasts with no home, the ones who have gone against our belief system. That is, after all, how Jesus started it all. Everyone is welcome here at the stable.
Thirdly, the people that showed up at the stable, showed up to worship. Period. They came to see, experience, and worship the Lord Jesus. Through, giving, bowing, and likely some moo-ing. They all worshiped.
Finally, the stable had a light. The star showed everyone where the stable was. As unassuming as it was, it was hard to miss the fact that the light of heaven was shining down right on the stable for all who wanted to seek and find. I hope I am a part of something like that for the rest of my life. A place where the people who are seeking God, shine so brightly in a dark world, that nobody could miss the Savior. The light, the star, the city on a hill, that’s what I’m talking. Stable…Church…both. Everyone who is seeking him should be able to find him through the body of people who claim to know him.
Let’s find, and fall in love again, with Jesus this season. I promise you this..stable-ity is right around the bend.
CT
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Comments
Posted Dec 16th at 12:18 pm
Not that my opinion matters, but All I can say about that is AMEN!
Posted Dec 16th at 12:26 pm
All I can say is…Thanks for reading, thanks for praying, thanks for your support. God Bless Bethel Baptist and the man called to guide it. You bless me.
CT
Posted Dec 17th at 11:08 pm
Thanks for sharing this. I try really hard not to get caught up in the “commericialism” of the holidays, but I still do and I hate it. I wish sometimes we could just go back to the basics to really understand and “get” what Christmas is about and really get what God wants us to do. I think if we did, we would all be more “authentic” and wouldn’t play the games with God that we play.
Just some thoughts from the new girl….
Posted Dec 17th at 11:12 pm
I love it! Seriously, I will be the first to admit that I could be a better person, a better believer, and a better example in this world so what I say is just as much a message to myself. During the Holiday Season people sometimes give more, pray more, and openly believe more but what we often forget is that the needy don’t get everything they need after December 25th and the homeless don’t all find homes. We forget that the unbelievers still need a witness and that for each day after that day that Jesus was born we are to show our love and compassion for our brothers and sisters in Christ…. and those who haven’t found Christ yet. Thank you Craig for reminding us of the true reason, not only of this season but for every season in our life. May we, as a church… as a stable, more often make an honest effort to be who we were meant to be and be able to rely on the honesty and love of our brothers and sisters to help us find our way back when we lose our path! Many blessing and Merry Christmas!
Posted Dec 18th at 9:50 am
Whoa…we actually have genuine response and conversation. Thanks to you guys who have written, encouraged, and been encouraged. It is awesome to hear from you, see your thoughts, and it helps keep me thinking about what to write next. I am glad to hear people interested in the “church” being just that…the “church” for the world to know Him, love Him, and experience Him genuinely.
Blessings.
CT