The ONLY thing perfect about the first Christmas was the One who was born.
Away in the manger
The cattle went poo.
Little Lord Jesus,
He just do too.
The flies they are buzzing
I can’t get to sleep.
This baby is crying,
Who brought in those sheep?
That’s where God showed up!
God shows up in the middle of the messes of life — in the middle of the messes of OUR lives.
Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Matthew 25:34-36 New International Version (NIV)
“Life gets messy, but in the midst of your mess. God shows up! No matter what you are struggling to overcome, no matter what life issues have come your way, God promises to show up. Christmas is God’s vivid reminder that amid the uncertainly, God shows up to bring you peace, purpose, joy, hope, and wholeness.”
Mike Slaughter, Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, p. 21
God joins us NOT because we’ve earned it, but because HE LOVES US!
Miracles never happen outside the context of mystery and mess.
Slaughter, p. 24