Sunday, December 23, 2007

What Makes No Sense

Sometimes God gives us a choice between a path that makes perfect sense and one that makes no sense at all.

It's not that He never calls us to the path that makes sense. Many Christian businessmen, athletes, or leaders attest to God preparing them from early times with gifts and skills to raise them up on a platform for His kingdom.

But other times, He asks us to choose the path that makes no sense. He asks us to turn down a promotion, reject a marriage proposal, sell all our goods and give them to the poor, go live in a "foreign" country. These radical choices are for His kingdom purposes just as much as the logical choices on the first path.

It's the path that makes no sense that God chose when He sent Jesus to the earth the first time - the path of humility, lowliness, poverty, anonymity. A manger - a feeding trough - held the Creator of the universe. It made no sense at all.

And yet, in God's perfect wisdom, it was the perfect choice. For it was only by humbling Himself to become flesh and to be obedient to the point of death that He could make a path for the Father to be glorified by people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group.

Immanuel, God with us. Praise You for the choice that made no sense whatsoever.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
("O Little Town of Bethlehem")

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