Christmas 2008

The Radical Middle — December 21, 2008

Dear Friends,

Warmest Christmas greetings! Let me share a thought or two that I hope will encourage you. Remember one of the most touching parts of the Christmas story?

The teenage girl, blinded by an angel with a startling message, trembled with fear. The very Presence of God was now near her. And was soon to overshadow her. What was more, His Presence was going to
conceive life in her – not an idea, or a concept, or even a singular passion for some noble cause – but His own Life, His very Self. Mary, in the words of one preacher, was among the most powerless people in her society: young in a world that valued age; female in a world ruled by men; poor in a strict class society. But she was to bear the Divine.

She was not to stay long in her troubled state, for soon she would realize the great destiny to which she was being called, and would exclaim, "My soul does magnify the Lord!"

Ever since that young girl encountered the Divine Presence, God has come again and again to the poor and the powerless – and even a few pompous – with the same call: to be bearers of His Presence. To let
him birth, as it were, the character and beauty of Christ in them.

This call arrests me. And I trust arrests you. Like Mary, the thought that God wants to bear His life and reflect His image through us can at first seem unsettling. We may wonder what great sacrifice the Lord
may require of us. But it is precisely at our point of uncertainty and anxiety that the Lord wants to remind us, "Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God." The call to be conformed into the likeness of Christ is not a summons to religious duty, but the signal of His
favor toward us.

How awesome the privilege and how exciting the purpose! To know His Presence, to let Him 'conceive' His presence within us, so that which is manifest through us is the life of Jesus.

Yet there is a mystery at work within us as we yield to His Spirit, even as it worked within Mary. For who Mary was destined to carry would not only be the greatest blessing the world would ever know -
but for Mary it would also mean confusion, misunderstanding, and rejection. For when the Spirit overshadowed her, He was not going to abide by conventional human protocols. Her 'Yes' to God brought the wagging tongues of suspicious neighbors, the momentary rejection of
her betrothed, and ultimately the sorrow of a crucified son. His Presence was to cause her great pain.

When the Spirit of God conceives the life of the Son in us, we too will flow in great blessing. Blessing manifested in gifts, ministries, dreams, and purposes – the stuff that gives our lives meaning. But in
this process we may also confront rejection, confusion, misunderstanding. For once we truly yield to Him, He won't play by our rulebooks. To know the wonder (read that, grandeur) of His Presence is
to sometimes know the wonder (read that, suspicion) of our world. Tongues may wag, people may reject – but in it all God will be glorified and we will say, "My soul does magnify the Lord!"

That is one of the great mysteries of the Christmas story. That a virgin blessed would know the pain of a pierced heart. And that that which would pierce her heart – the death of the Life born in her -
would be the very "tidings of great joy" the angel had proclaimed to nameless shepherds.

And "Tidings of great joy" were the words that announced what appeared to be the ordinary birth of an obscure infant in the backside of an insignificant Roman colony. A baby who, in the flush of His manhood, would become a companion of sorrow, destined to die a criminal's
death. Obscurity, insignificance, sorrow, death. Can these be tidings of great joy? Perhaps here we see the most profound paradox of all – a mystery that Christ intimately understood. For when He hung on that cross, He did so for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2). He knew that His sorrow meant our happiness; His death, our life. He comes once again, like a servant through the back door – that we might enter the gates of heaven!

If we – in our quest to be bearers of His Life – are to know joy in the midst of suffering, it is because He has shown us the mystery: that out of death comes life. That though – in yielding to His Spirit
- we may endure pain for a season it is so that the power of His Presence will be more fully revealed through us. And that revelation is what engenders joy.

Nancy and I, along with our team, are grateful that we can serve the Body of Christ by carrying this message of God's Presence. We are grateful to so many of you who, through your prayers and support, enable us to equip the saints to embrace the fullness of that
Presence.