Christmas hath a darkness;

Brighter than the blazing noon;

Christmas hath a chillness

Warmer than the heat of June,

Christmas hath a beauty

Lovelier than the world can show:

For Christmas bringeth Jesus,

Brought for us so low.

Christina Rossetti

Merry Christmas, everyone. :) 

The King's Child

I hesitate outside, He sits on His throne

And though I'm here peeking, I feel all alone.

I die to come forward and sit at His feet,

But I know I'm not worthy of such a close seat. 

With full trepidation, I peek 'round the door

And see my King seated but, Oh! I want more

I want to be near Him, to see His kind face

But I know I'm not worthy of such a close place.

Oh - is He calling me? Whatever for?

Is it that I'm too close as I stand by the door?

Will He send me away, put me outside, or, no!

Will He tell me I must pack my things up and go?

But He hugs me close, gently, and He whispers to me-

"Child, I know you feel shackled, but I have set you free.

I am with you, I love you, I died for you - see,

This is the price of what you mean to Me.

My scars testify to My heart that is given

To you and all others who have been forgiven.

Now you call me Saviour, and that is quite true

I am your Redeemer, and I've made you new.

Your past is redeemed by my atoning blood,

And I loved you, see, before you understood

You are Mine and I love you, so now I implore:

Come close to Me, child, don't stop by the door!

You are God's child, beloved, and I welcome you here

So come and sit close, now, and no longer fear.

You are welcome by My grace, you are not alone,

I am with you, I love you, sit near by My throne." 

the sufferings of Christ

I have hesitated to write this blog post for two reasons.

First, I cannot properly articulate the sufferings of Christ, because I do not and could not possibly know the full extent of His pain and suffering. Second, I cannot understand the sufferings of Christ as I ought, for Christ suffered willingly, knowingly, and lovingly. He came to earth as a man with the full knowledge that He would suffer and die. He went through unimaginable agony in rescuing sinners such as myself. He knew He would. He did it anyway. 

This sort of suffering is not the type I am familiar with. I am more familiar with suffering unwillingly, stumbling into suffering because I cannot see the future, and hating the pain. I am often quite selfish when it comes to suffering -  I do not willingly give myself over to suffer for the sake of others, not too often anyway.

Yet, the sufferings of Christ are extremely pertinent to the Christian faith, and so I will write about them, though you must forgive my fumbling attempts to explain what I barely perceive. 

I often think of the different aspects of Christ's earthly life, and wonder what could be termed suffering. Really, all of it could be, in some measure or another. The humility of humanity, the weakness and fragility, the physical limitations, the stubbed toes, the whacked thumbs, the muscle strain, the heat stroke...all these things that the Son of God had never before endured, being omnipotent, God, Almighty. His very earthly life was in itself a form of suffering. And He did it willingly, for you and for me. I speak of His willingness a lot, because it is so astounding to me. 

Then you come to the mockery, the accusations, the attempts of the scribes and Pharisees to trip Jesus up and catch Him in His words. They never did, but Jesus was grieved at their hardness of heart and their willful unbelief. 

Imagine the pain of betrayal. Yes, Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, but I doubt that lessened the pain of it in any way. Judas was a close disciple, with Jesus for years. Judas witnessed Jesus' ministry, His mercy, His healing of the sick, the leprous, the weak, the frail, the dead. He still betrayed Him. 

Then there is the physical pain of the flogging, the carrying of the cross on which He would be crucified on His stripped back, the striking fists of the Roman soldiers, the hatred of the crowd, the crucifixion itself, the separation from God...Jesus endured a life of suffering. 

He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

(Isaiah 53:3 ESV)

Yet the sufferings of Christ have brought forth the joy of salvation. As 1 Peter says, suffering is not the end, but rather glory:

inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. (1 Peter 1:11 ESV)

Christ's suffering brought for the joy of salvation, victory over Satan, sin, and death, and reconciliation to God. 

Yet the sufferings of Christ have brought forth the joy of salvation, victory over Satan, sin, and death, and reconciliation to God. We ought to look at our own suffering in the light of Christ's. He knew that His suffering was for a purpose. 

Often I forget that my own suffering is doing something, affecting me according to the merciful plan and purpose of God. I dwell on the pain instead of on the "subsequent glories". 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 ESV)

Do you hear what I hear?

'Tis the season, and Christmas music is sounding forth from radio stations across the world. Singers and songwriters alike devote themselves to capturing the quintessential beauty found in a single, dangling snowflake. Poets seek to capture on paper the mystical evanescence of what surrounds this holiday. Even the lowest and meanest among us wax poetic and philosophical at this time of year. How can you not be poetic when there are scented candles and pretty lights all around?  

I wondered recently whether those who sing certain Christmas songs know what they are saying. Are they oblivious to the words? Do they sing them simply because they are traditional songs, and they sound pretty good, and you can get that Christmas CD out pretty quick by covering an old tune instead of writing your own? Do they sing them because the songs are poetic? 

Am I cynical? I'm sure I have asked that question before. But do they know? I would really like to know if these singers realize what the words coming out of their mouths actually mean. 

For instance, I hear "Joy to the World" on the radio a lot. It's been sung by many people, old and young. It is a good tune. Just look at the words.  

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Verse 3 is sometimes skipped, but the remaining verses are enough to make you wonder. This carol is a proclamation of the gospel. It declares that joy has come to the world precisely because Christ has come to the world. We are joyful because He reigns. We are joyful because He brings blessings beyond measure, beyond understanding. We are joyful because He rules the world with truth and grace! He is glorious, He is righteous, He is Love Incarnate. I hear the truth found in Jesus Christ in every line of this carol.

I'm not complaining that it's on the radio; in fact, I'm delighted. Except for when someone does a completely messed-up version of the music. That is not so delightful.

But do they hear what I hear? 

Gandhi's wisdom

How many times have you heard this phrase?

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

I have heard and read it plenty of times in my life, both from non-Christians and Christians (the latter being especially annoying to me). I do not like the phrase. Let me explain.

You might think I do not like it because I'm indignant that anyone would slam Christians as being unlike Christ, because that's a major insult, saying believers are not always like what they believe. Well, no, I'm not offended by that. That, in itself, is true. 

What offends me is the misunderstanding of Christ Jesus, and therefore of Christians. Gandhi said this (and people repeat it) because he did not realize Who Christ is, or who Christ's people are. Gandhi says he likes Christ, but does he really? He probably liked the concept of Jesus the good man, the teacher, the one who preached peace and love, who said that the meek shall inherit the earth and the poor in spirit are blessed beyond measure. Who doesn't like that Christ? He's a pretty cool guy. (He doesn't afraid of anything...moving on.) 

Yet Christ Jesus is so much more than this good man. He is God, the Son, the Word. He holds the universe together by the word of His power. In Him all things live, move, and have their being. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the firstborn, the heir of all creation. He is perfect in being, power, wisdom, authority, justice, goodness and truth. He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Did Gandhi know Christ? Did he really know this Christ he claimed to like? If he did, how can he cast such a judgment upon Christians? If he did not, by what authority does he claim to pronounce such a judgment? 

The fact that Christians are unlike Christ most of the time is really the point. We are bad. We are sinners. Christ is good. He is sinless. He accomplished the law for us and died in our place. Of course we are unlike Christ. That's why we need Him! 

The problem is that Gandhi (and those who quote him) expect Christians to be Christ. Christians are often watched because people want to see them slip up, to fall into sin, so that they can say, "You see? Christians are just like the rest of us." That's true. We are. That's why we need a Saviour. You do, too. Because, you're just like the Christians (you see, it goes both ways), who rely on Christ's propitiatory death and victorious resurrection in order to be reconciled to God. 

Gandhi may have liked Christ, but it remains to be seen whether he actually believed Him. 

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 ESV)

My Jesus, I love Thee

William Featherstone (1846-1873) was just sixteen years old when he wrote these words. This hymn is one of my favourites. The words are so full of praise to God. They make my soul resonate with praise, and when I sing this hymn I long to sing it on and on and on, for I never tire of the words. 

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,

I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;

I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

Distaste

I used to love honey. Seriously, I was a honey addict. I ate it every day - more than that, I felt like I needed to eat it every day. When we ran out of honey, I would be angry, or I would pout inside. Honey was my friend. Bees were the most glorious creature on the planet. Gold was my favourite colour. 

Okay, it wasn't quite that bad, but I did love honey. 

I recently went through a period of time (I think it was a little over a month) without eating any sugar or sweeteners of any kind. This was to rid my body of a particularly frustrating ailment. I was desperate, and it was suggested to me that ridding my body of sugar would "starve" out what I carried. It appears so far that this has worked, as the skin rashes, the pain, and the utter fatigue have not returned. (Yes!) 

Anyway, at the end of the month I was allowed to eat a little bit of sweets again. Naturally, I went for the honey. I remembered how delicious it was, and that it satisfied every craving and hit every single little spot. Yet when I had some, it wasn't that good. In fact, I didn't like it at all. I took a sip of tea with honey in it and my mouth puckered from the disgusting sweetness. I found my food tastes had changed. I no longer needed honey. I was just fine without it. In fact, I was healthier without it. 

I was thinking about that, and I can equate that to sin in my life. As I escape it, as God leads me away from it, I find that when I stumble back, expecting all the pleasure and satisfaction I had from it before, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It makes my nose wrinkle. I no longer desire it. I'd sooner go without it. I want to be free of it. I want to choke the disease of sin that lingers in my body, waiting for me to give it something on which to feed. My tastes are slowly changing as God works in me. Too bad this sort of change takes longer than a month. ;) More like a lifetime, but God is faithful and I know He will bring it to completion. 

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)