"I Bring You Good News. . ."Of Incarnation!

“Let us remember the proclamation of the angel: 'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:10-11).

May our hearts go out to the unconverted people…who have no blessed Christmas day. 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord.'” (Nehemiah 8:10).

~ Mrs. L.B. Cowman
Streams in the Desert

It is entirely accurate to say that Christians get too caught up in the “story” of Baby Jesus at Christmastime. We take the whole manger thing way too far. We revel in the tender side of God’s nature and we completely set aside the reality of sin and redemption which is the premise of the entire Bible!

We dress up children in costumes and sing angelic-sounding songs. It’s really all very precious, isn't it? . . . Listening to a child read from the Book of Luke? . . . As other little ones parade about as angels and shepherds? It's almost too much to bear if you're a parent or grandparent.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.

Don’t get me wrong. This aspect of Jesus’ story is important -- even vital to understanding the Messiah. But the biblical focus on Jesus is not on His birth. The real focus is some thirty years later at an execution scene. There was no tender angelic moment at that place. Instead, the air was ripe with evil. The baby of the manger was murdered.

May our hearts go out to the unconverted people…who have no blessed Christmas day.

Do the "unconverted" understand that He was murdered for them? Do they understand that [really rather simple] theology of "The Incarnation?"

Birth brought God’s Son into the world and gave Him a human body -- just like you and me -- for one reason and one reason only: To redeem us back unto Himself.

The Christian'ese terminology would be "to covert us."

So doesn't it follow that the celebration of His birth be focused on those who have not yet been redeemed? Should we not focus our energy on reaching out to those who don't yet celebrate His redeeming power, but instead focus on the angels and shepherds (and choice foods and sweet drinks)?

In all reality, the "unconverted" do not have a "blessed Christmas day," -- as Mrs. Cowman puts it. They do not understand why He came in the first place! All they really have are the pretty angel songs and precious visions of all those Children's Christmas Pageants -- and of course the food and festivities of the Season. They do not hold to the truth of -- nor really even understand -- the words of John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

Why? Why did He come? Surely the Incarnation of Christ is one of the hardest truths to grasp. Let alone explain to someone who has no "blessed Christmas day." Some of the greatest theologians have taken great effort to offer a good clarification.

But the infamous Paul Harvey provides one of the most unique explanations of the Incarnation. One very special installment of The Rest of The Story which first aired in 1981 revealed wonderful insight into the verses in John Chapter 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. . . .
The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

~*~*~*~

...the story opens with an apathetic, disinterested husband and father who just was not getting into the Christmas spirit. He turned down an invitation to attend a church Christmas program with his family, boldly stating his disbelief in the miracle of the Incarnation. He simply did not believe that God became a man.

His family left for the program and he settled in for a quiet evening at home. Outside a winter storm was gathering force. The winds were beginning to pick up when he heard a strange noise -- a tapping sound on the windowpanes. Opening the curtains, he discovered a flock of birds desperately seeking shelter from the storm and being attracted to the light emanating from the window.

Feeling compassion for these birds, he threw on his wraps and headed towards the barn. He flung open the doors for the birds, but they did not come. He turned the barn lights on to attract them, but that did not work either. He got bread from the house and made a trail of crumbs, but that too failed. He rushed behind the flock to steer them toward the barn, but they only scattered.

Finally in disgust, he thought to himself,

If only I could become a bird to show them where to go for warmth and safety.

Just then in the distant village, he heard the church bells and an illuminating truth began to dawn in his soul:

Is it possible that the reason for that first Christmas
– with a tiny baby named Jesus –
was for God to become like us in order to help us?

~*~*~*~

And now, you know the rest of the story. . . .

. . . Share it with someone who doesn't have a blessed Christmas day. "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared." Generosity, unexpected kindnesses and "good will" have come to exemplify the Christmas Season to even the "unconverted."

. . . But more important than sharing the food and sweet drinks and other unexpected kindnesses, share the Incarnation of Christ. "The day is most assuredly sacred to to our Lord."

There are far too many in our world -- you know some!! -- who do not believe in CHRISTmas at all! And more tragic is the very real fact that many who call themselves Christians and do believe in Christmas have not accepted the Plan of Redemption that the Incarnation brings!

It's tragic because . . .

. . .at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
~ Pilippinas 2:10-11

The Incarnation is is the single most important fact of all history. There will most assuredly come a day when when His Incarnation is undeniable. Share it!

~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen

© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

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This installment of InOtherWords is hosted by Patricia
on her blog, Typing One Handed

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In Other Words . . . We Still Forget!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas. . . perhaps

. . . means a 'little' bit more."
~ Dr. Suess - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

We forget.

We go crazy at Christmastime with light displays and decorating, planning and partying, gifts and gaiety, crafts and cuisine, even blog carnivals. And the shopping. . . oh my!

Oh sure, we do our best to put the focus on “The Real Reason. . .”

But . . . we forget.

We pause - *sigh* - when we hear the news of yet another school district banning the sacred music of the Season. Our hearts sink deeper every year as we witness the culture's sinister attacks on this Season of our Saviour's Birth.

Yet. . . we still forget.

We are occupied with Bethlehem when we should be focused on Gethsemane.

Is it possible to get too caught up in the “story” of Jesus’ birth? Do people take the baby Jesus thing too far? People seem to revel in the “tender” side of God’s nature, putting aside thoughts of sin and righteousness.

We dress up children in costumes and sing angelic-sounding songs. It’s almost too much to resist. Don’t misunderstand me. This aspect of Jesus’ story is important, even vital to understanding the Messiah. But the biblical focus on Jesus is not on His birth.

The real focus is some thirty years later, at an execution scene. There was no tender moment at that place. The air was, instead, ripe with evil.

The baby of the manger was murdered.

Birth did bring God’s Son into the world and give Him a body like you and like me. But this miraculous Birth is just one small piece of a much greater and grander story -- a story that ties Genesis to Revelation -- a story that spans generations and centuries -- a story which continues right up to this very second. It's the story of Redemption!

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

~ John 1:14

Why did God choose to send a child? Why didn’t Jesus just come to earth as a fully-grown adult? In fitting with the whole of Scripture and the entire plan of Redemption, the idea was that Jesus be involved in human relationships. Jesus needed to know what it’s like to be human. And he does.

While on earth, Jesus was hurt. He cried. He was hungry. He was angry. He was happy. He grew. And like us, He experienced human limitations. He bled. He got hungry. He needed sleep. And it’s probably safe to assume that, just as any other precious infant, the human part of baby Jesus needed constant care. As a toddler, He needed discipline; and as a child, direction. God used those formative years to prepare Jesus for His ministry and ultimately for death on a cross.

Let’s get caught up in the Baby Jesus "story" for a minute, shall we?

Imagine you had been walking down a city street or sitting in a coffee shop in Bethlehem that evening and overheard someone say something about a King being in town?

If someone had told you, “Follow this street to the alleyway behind Starbuck's and you’ll find Him in a manger,” wouldn’t you have hurried along toward that alley?

I wonder how many of us upon arriving at the manger, with disappointment in our hearts, would say, “But it’s only a child,” and walk away -- frustrated that we'd left our gourmet coffee behind for nothing.

Scripture does tell us that people were expecting the Savior to be a warrior. They were hoping for someone who would overtake the oppressive leaders of the time and they believed God would do it the way any man would… by force.

How many people do you suppose breathed sighs of despair when they saw that God had instead sent . . . a child?

As mothers, that’s hard to think about. Our children are the world to us and we’d do anything for them. Most of us have sacrificed much to care for them, discipline them, direct them and form them into adults.

But the child stage is so momentary. Children are like . . . plaster! I was working with plaster a few days ago. While fresh and wet, it can be shaped into almost anything. Over time (actually about 15 minutes), the plaster hardens, and shaping is much more difficult impossible.

We all have a part in shaping the plaster of the children in our lives. Their little hearts and minds are so pliable. We can teach them good or evil. We can teach them selfishness or compassion.

Do you believe God was doing the same thing with His own Son? I do. God brought Jesus into this world as a child so He could shape Jesus into the man He wanted His son to become.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

~Luke 2:52

Jesus needed to grow in favor with God because the human part of Him had to be shaped into the character God had planned. That reality should help us realize just how crucial it is that we use our time wisely when it comes to our children and grandchildren. If God realized the importance of shaping His own child’s “plaster,” how can we do any different with our children?

Over the next weeks, many of us will be scouring crowded stores looking for the perfect toys and clothes and gadgets and . . . stuff. We will envision the excitement on our children’s and grandchildren’s faces as they open their gifts.

But we forget. . .

Beyond what we find in the stores, let's spend some time thinking about what’s going on inside their hearts – how their “plaster” is being shaped. Let’s remember a powerful yet often overlooked verse in The Book of Psalm:

"Children are a gift from God…”

~ Psalm 127:3

Let’s never get to that point where -- as some did some two thousand years ago -- we say, “But, it’s only a child." Jesus came as a tiny, precious baby --Yes! But God’s plan for Him was far more remarkable.

. . . He just needed his plaster shaped before HE GAVE HIS LIFE.

Maybe Christmas. . . perhaps
. . . means a 'little' bit more."

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

2008 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife
The article also submitted for publication to

Wesleyan Publishing House, Indianapolis, IN

In Other Words is hosted today by Lori at All You Have to Give.

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Childhood Memories & New Traditions. . .

Christmas traditions are mostly made up of the little things . . . vague memories that only emerge with the decades-old ornaments and tangled strings of lights. The best memories go back to our childhood. The memories aren't necessarily the Currier & Ive's moments that make for inviting prose. . . just sentimental reminiscing that warms our hearts. . . Like the smell of oranges and the taste of peanuts from that little brown-bag we all received as a child after the church Christmas pageant. Remember that? OH! How I enjoyed those peanuts - and sucking on the shells!

I remember the dozens of red apple-ornaments my mother decorated our tree with . . . and three small circa-1963 plastic reindeer with gold glitter . . . Which glitter -- by the time I was ten- or eleven-years-old -- had been completely rubbed off by little hands playing-out the "Rudolph" story. My mom still puts out these dear old reindeer every year.

My favorite Christmastime memory -- as shallow as this sounds -- was the total silence on Christmas Eve in my Grandpa & Grandma Wehlan's house in Blue Island, Illinois. After all the presents had been opened and Grandma finally turned off Moody Radio, I'd climb into bed with her and fall asleep in complete stillness. To this day, I cannot think of a time or place I've felt more secure and happy.

Fast forward several decades: Here's a few of the "little things" that make Christmas magic at the Goossen Home:

For each year of our marriage, my husband and I either make or purchase a new ornament that somehow reflects or symbolizes the past year for us. Sometimes it’s serious, like an open Bible representing Mark's call to a new church and the opportunity to share God’s Word -- Or a small carpenter’s tool-box to remind us of the year the church re-built after an arson fire. Sometimes it’s silly, like a fish to remind us of all the fish we (wished we’d) caught on our family fishing outings. Each year when we decorate the tree, we have a wonderful time of remembering the precious moments from our past together.

As a ministry family, we have taught our children the Scriptural principle of Acts 20:35. . .

“. . . remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

. . . Each year we do something special and unique for the shut-ins in our church and community. Last year, we became skilled weavers after making 74 homemade potholders! We delivered them with fresh homemade gingerbread boys complete with blue-icing mittens and "red-hot's" candy buttons.

And . . . this one’s especially contemporary since I grew up in Indiana where we rarely had a white Christmas. Ya' need SNOW for Snow Ice Cream:

Ingredients:
4 cups freshly fallen clean snow
½ cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
Mix milk, sugar and vanilla together as children collect the snow. Blend milk mixture with the snow and eat immediately with chocolate chips! We live in MINNESOTA now. . . Snow? Yea, we got that!

Sometimes as adults, Christmas loses the magic it once found in our hearts as children. Being the adult now charged with full control of the decorating and the shopping and the planning and the baking and the card sending and et.al. . . . sort of shrinks the magic and depletes the fun.

We have a tendency to get all philosophical about things and in a sense we figure we can overlook the joy that we should be experiencing and say we celebrate Christmas everyday, because we are continually grateful for JESUS CHRIST who came to deliver us from sorrow and sin and death. On that First Original Christmas Morning, Eternal LIFE was born in a stable! (And - DUH!) Of course. . .

BUT. . . As parent, it is our awesome responsibility to inaugurate the magic of traditions in our young families. For me -- having married late in life -- I’m just getting into the swing of this traditions-making-thing, and only in the last few years have we established some special Goossen Christmas traditions. To watch my own children admire and experience the "magic" brings it back to my own heart. . . .

After all . . . the best memories go back to our childhood. . . . [Excuse me.]

Kid: "Mom! I thought you were going to vacuum the carpet in my room!!"

Me: "Do I look like the housekeeper?
Kid: "You're wearing the apron."
{pause}

I gotta' go!

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen
© 2008 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

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