Following Orders

Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 1 John 2:7-11; Matthew 1:18-25

The greatest gift any of us have ever received is life itself. I realize that such a statement may or may not jibe with your Christmas shopping—however, for the few guys I know who have not yet started, here’s a guide to help you. Each day we awaken into the enfolding embrace of our God. Each day God is with us, offering us the full presence of the Kingdom of God—the miraculous love in which God created all that is. The great sign and seal of this presence is the child called Immanuel, whom we know as Jesus—here is God with us in every aspect of our lives, from good to bad to worse to extraordinary. No wonder we all go a little bit nuts in celebrating, even when we have completely forgotten the core of the celebration. 

Now that we are refocused, what do we do?

The greatest response we can make to the greatest gift received is to allow it to lead us through each day we have. Allow it to direct our hearts and minds. Allow it to set the standards for all of our decisions.

Or, in the blunt terms of my 4th Grade teacher, “Obey.”

HEAR, O ISRAEL

Whoops! I could hear the falling faces all the way up here in the pulpit, the whining whistle of hearing aids being turned down, and the eye rolls that are apocalyptic! Bear with me—I promise this word is still good news of great joy—I promise.

When God spoke to Moses one last time before sending the Israelites into the Promised Land, God decided to remind them of the terms of the relationship—here is what you need to do to make the most of this most wonderful gift you are about to receive. It began with a simple refresher—

The Lord our God is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your heart, and with all your strength.

The point of this refresher was not to burden the liberated souls of Israel with a new set of chains, but to be sure they would remain free.

Now there is an ironic thought to be sure—freedom through obedience. It sounds like a leftover aphorism from George Orwell’s, “1984.” But instead of hearing it as bureaucratic doublespeak, hear it instead as an intonation of the same love that leads parents everywhere to lay down rules with their beloved children—here is a shelter of security, safety, and soundness. Stay in it, and all shall be well. 

The shelter God offers is the shelter of God’s embrace—an all-competent embrace that can lift us and keep us in whatever context we find ourselves within—every single one of them. But to be there, we have to stay focused on whose shelter it is. We are the children of God. Then, we need to do a routine sweep for all the godlets we allow to guide us—you know, those things that claim all of our time, resources, and effort. We need to stay clear in our own minds and hearts whom we serve—the God of Jesus who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the source of our being. He is the only God we need to be with, for he has all we need to live.

NOT THE SAME-OLD SAME-OLD

Once we attune our attention to the right God, we need to consider how best to be in God’s presence. Here, the Apostle John comes to our aid. His first letter is a wonder of an outline for setting the agenda for a life in Christ. He gets straight to the core—love is all Christ is about, therefore, if we are to be a part of Christ’s fellowship, then love will be the center of our own being. 

He goes on to present a simple self-examination—how do you feel about all those other people around you? That will reveal all we need to know about our proximity to Christ’s presence. 

As we seek to allow love to guide us into the presence of others, we will find that Christ reveals himself to us profoundly and deeply. We will clear away the fog that often veils our hearts from perceiving God with us. Love opens up the wonder and the joy of life with God. Love provides wondrous navigational help for coursing through the tumult of human interaction and interbeing. 

But to use this spiritual GPS, we need that self-examination. We need to pause by ourselves and really consider where we are with each other and all others. What guides us? What leads us? What gets in the way? What distracts us? 

Then, accept the results. Sometimes, we will find we are doing really okay; but others, not so much. Take the answer as it comes, whatever it is, and adjust accordingly. We do this so easily we so many other areas of our lives, so why not with the soul, too? 

We will soon realize the same-old same-old is probably going to need some tweaking.

LIVING PROOF

Which leads to one of the most persistent excuses ever uttered by human beings everywhere, all the time—It’s too hard, can’t be done, and is an impossible standard, so why bother? 

Matthew jumps all over us, but not screaming and yelling like my 4th Grade teacher, shouting us down, “OBEY!” Instead, he takes a far more subtle approach. He tells us the story of a very real man faced with a very real problem that he handles by practicing the art of obedience. He tells the story of Joseph.

What makes this story so absurdly powerful is its reality. Flipping through the channels will reveal any number of “reality” TV shows with this exact plot line—man loves girl, girl is unfaithful, man must decide what to do. On TV, this process usually involves great hysterics, lots of cussing, and a really good fistfight. But Matthew's story is in another universe. Joseph would be panned by the TV audience as the ultimate weenie—a nobody who deserves the heartache he gets—what a buffoon believing this bull story about miracles and wonders and angel visits. Except that Joseph is showing us what Moses taught the Israelites and John set as the core examination of all we say and do. Here is true obedience.

An ordinary man reaches extraordinary heights through setting God at the center of his existence, practicing the love found there, and bringing the Savior safely into the world by protecting his mother. Remember—without Joseph—the all too often forgotten man of Christmas—there would be no Christmas. 

If he can do this, so can we.

It will take faith.

It will take courage.

It will take effort.

But the gifts we will bring into being through it are beyond measure. They will be love for all that ensures all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.

And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?