This Christmas season, I find find that am simply taken with the mystery of grace.
My thoughts have turned, again and again, to a rough-hewn stable and the small baby being laid in the feeding trough inside. I imagine those tiny fingers and toes, wrapped tightly in a cloth that his mother had brought along for the journey, in preparation for the baby who could come at any moment.
That baby was the fullness of Deity, the visible form of the invisible God. The Promised One.
I am struck with the implausible setting for the newborn Savior. It's the juxtaposition of a glorious King in a woven blanket, the Being that holds the universe together, being held in the arms of a carpenter's wife, that makes me wonder at the story of His grace.
God chose to reveal His glory in a humble man, from a tiny town, in a little country so long ago. Jesus lived, and breathed and walked on this earth to fulfill the grace of God toward an undeserving people, and to establish a kingdom in the hearts of men.
It wasn't the kind of kingdom people were expecting.
But it turned out to be far greater than anyone could have ever dreamed.
An earthly king would have ruled over a finite group of people for a finite period of time. But the King of all kings came to live forever within us, His sacrifice providing us access to the Father, and His Spirit guiding us into the riches of His wisdom. His power and His glory are at work in us to change us into His likeness; a feat wrought not by an army, but by divine love.
The mystery of grace reaches through time and space to people everywhere. It is an invitation to lay down our lives and receive new life in the spirit. It is an invitation to eternal life through Jesus Christ, the baby who slept in a manger that night, and who died on a cross for our sins. The Creator God, who loved us enough to come as a man to show us the way to His mercy.
The words of Colossians 1:27 are echoing in my heart.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
I've read and re-read the book of Colossians to try and understand it. All of creation and all of history are culminated in this one person, Jesus Christ. The rules and laws that revealed the holiness and justice of God are fulfilled in Christ, through His grace and mercy. And just like the juxtaposition of the glorious King in a lowly manger, the hope of His glory within our "earthen vessels" is a cause of wonder to me. How can such a thing be?
This Christmas finds me with few of the trappings and activities of years' past. In a way, I'm grateful for the chance to experience the season with a simple focus. Oh, I know there will be toy shopping, and baking and holiday parties. But the cold, clear nights and the twinkling stars draw me to the infinite God and His limitless grace. He reaches to me through the unlikely story of a baby in a stable, made perfect by the gift of love for mankind.
It is mystery and it is glory, all wrapped within a woven blanket.
My thoughts have turned, again and again, to a rough-hewn stable and the small baby being laid in the feeding trough inside. I imagine those tiny fingers and toes, wrapped tightly in a cloth that his mother had brought along for the journey, in preparation for the baby who could come at any moment.
That baby was the fullness of Deity, the visible form of the invisible God. The Promised One.
I am struck with the implausible setting for the newborn Savior. It's the juxtaposition of a glorious King in a woven blanket, the Being that holds the universe together, being held in the arms of a carpenter's wife, that makes me wonder at the story of His grace.
God chose to reveal His glory in a humble man, from a tiny town, in a little country so long ago. Jesus lived, and breathed and walked on this earth to fulfill the grace of God toward an undeserving people, and to establish a kingdom in the hearts of men.
It wasn't the kind of kingdom people were expecting.
But it turned out to be far greater than anyone could have ever dreamed.
An earthly king would have ruled over a finite group of people for a finite period of time. But the King of all kings came to live forever within us, His sacrifice providing us access to the Father, and His Spirit guiding us into the riches of His wisdom. His power and His glory are at work in us to change us into His likeness; a feat wrought not by an army, but by divine love.
The mystery of grace reaches through time and space to people everywhere. It is an invitation to lay down our lives and receive new life in the spirit. It is an invitation to eternal life through Jesus Christ, the baby who slept in a manger that night, and who died on a cross for our sins. The Creator God, who loved us enough to come as a man to show us the way to His mercy.
The words of Colossians 1:27 are echoing in my heart.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
I've read and re-read the book of Colossians to try and understand it. All of creation and all of history are culminated in this one person, Jesus Christ. The rules and laws that revealed the holiness and justice of God are fulfilled in Christ, through His grace and mercy. And just like the juxtaposition of the glorious King in a lowly manger, the hope of His glory within our "earthen vessels" is a cause of wonder to me. How can such a thing be?
This Christmas finds me with few of the trappings and activities of years' past. In a way, I'm grateful for the chance to experience the season with a simple focus. Oh, I know there will be toy shopping, and baking and holiday parties. But the cold, clear nights and the twinkling stars draw me to the infinite God and His limitless grace. He reaches to me through the unlikely story of a baby in a stable, made perfect by the gift of love for mankind.
It is mystery and it is glory, all wrapped within a woven blanket.
© Rachel Anne Ridge
For Today's Small Thing, I hope you'll print off December's verse and put it where you can see it. The 50 points you'll receive for doing so are small in comparison to the truth that is contained in the words. Will you take some time to meditate on it with me? I would love to hear your thoughts, either in comments or by email.
Download Colossians1.27
For Today's Small Thing, I hope you'll print off December's verse and put it where you can see it. The 50 points you'll receive for doing so are small in comparison to the truth that is contained in the words. Will you take some time to meditate on it with me? I would love to hear your thoughts, either in comments or by email.
Download Colossians1.27
Today's beautiful song is: O Magnum Mysterium, written by Giovanni Gabrieli (1555-1612).
Lyric translation:
O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia!
Lyric translation:
