The Truth of God is Found in His Celebration Style
It occurred to me the other day, as I was driving (to where I don’t remember), life feels more pleasant during the Christmas season because people are on similar pages with one another. Everyone is looking forward to a party, a concert, a family get-together … something. We all have the goal of finding ideal presents for those we love. A feeling of celebration radiates through neighborhoods as Christmas lights and decorations appear on trees and bushes and roof lines.
For a space of time, we are all moving toward the same thing.
Christmas isn’t always Ideal
Don’t get me wrong, there is stress and heart ache and uncertainty. Christmas packaging doesn’t make all the problems we face fade away. Hunger, homelessness, lack of income, loneliness or grief can destroy any hope of a happy holiday.
Our fear that Christmas will not be the most wonderful time leads us to watch another sappy movie, listen to Christmas music a little louder or decorate a bit more over the top. Our souls are desperate for a respite from the pain we’ve experienced over the preceding year. We long to be merry.
The Christmas Story isn’t Ideal
When you look deeply into the Christmas story (Matthew 1 & 2, Luke 1 & 2), it doesn’t come across as a completely happy tale. A young girl is pregnant out of wedlock and her fiancé knows the baby isn’t his. They marry and then a census forces them to travel when she’s ready to pop. They don’t have the finances to stay any place swanky so they willingly accept any hospitality they can find, desperate for a place to crash and sleep for the night.
The story doesn’t get better. The young girl gives birth to her first child in their makeshift hotel room with all the barn animals watching. There’s no record of her mother encouraging her, or anyone besides her husband in attendance. It’s the two of them, and now a tiny baby. Happy Birthday?
Happy Birthday Jesus
In our house, we do birthdays; I personally celebrate a birthday month! I can remember planning parties for my children every year. I wanted them to know they were worth celebrating. Their entrance into our family is exceedingly noteworthy. I think God felt the same way about Jesus’ entrance to earth.
This was the moment in time when God broke his silence and sent what the Israelites had been praying about for centuries. God’s promises of rescue and salvation were coming true. It was exceedingly noteworthy, and it most certainly deserved a celebration!
Jesus’ Birthday Celebration
In today’s culture, parties in a barn are the in thing. Mix the bling with the rustic and you have the ideal scenario ~ one could be the complete envy of all Pinterest and Instagram. God wasn’t concerned about posting a photo and gathering everyone’s affirmation; He just needed to do a bit of a happy dance because Jesus had entered the world.
God did what only God can do, He sent angels, in all their glory, to announce His son’s arrival. Only the best for the best! And yet God didn’t throw wide the party doors because he sent his heralding angels to a group of smelly, low-class shepherds. It makes us wonder what God was thinking.
The Truth of Who God Is
So much of the story of Jesus’ birth makes us wonder what God was thinking. He doesn’t do parties like we do. He doesn’t celebrate like we think it should be done. And yet tucked in all that seeming contradiction is the truth of who God is.
- He is all glory shining round and He is humble.
- He is about extravagantly fulfilling all His promises and He quietly goes about His purposes.
- He is ready to give us the moon and the stars and He waits for us to seek Him.
- He offers us love, peace and joy in abundance, and He allows us to ridicule and reject Him.
- He created everything we see and all we cannot see, and He gives us the option to choose whether we will honor Him or not.
- He is the King of all Kings, and He doesn’t force us to worship Him.
- He is the final authority – the omniscient, omnipresent, eternal God – and He came to our broken world as a baby.
God’s Celebration Style
Life feels more pleasant during the Christmas season because God is doing a bit of a happy dance. He’s doing what only God can do and He’s tendering our spirits to see who He is and what He’s offering. He’s providing a taste of love and peace and joy. He’s tucking the truth of who He is in all our anticipating, and gifting, and celebrating. God doesn’t do parties like we do. He doesn’t celebrate how we think it should be done. God does everything in the best way possible. That’s something noteworthy to celebrate!
Decorated House Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash
I like the idea of God doing a Happy Dance. Thanks for the new insight of the way God celebrates.