STRANGE, BUT TRUE

(Luke 2)
6While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel. 8There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. 9Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. 10The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: 11A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. 12This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger." 13At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises, saying, "14Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him."

15As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." 16They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. 18All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. 19Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. 20The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

Superman Returns! People have waited years for this movie to come out, right!? Some people love, some hate it. One of my friends wrote me to tell me that seeing it reminded her why Superman was her hero-crush of choice growing up. What's not to love about the story of Superman, after all? A not-quite-human man is sent from another planet to earth to live amongst humans to serve and save humanity, and while he's here he not only serves and saves us, he also falls in love with us and decides to stay? Sounds like a good story to me.

Sounds kind of familiar actually? Where have I heard that before?

OH YEAH!...

Those crazy Hollywood producers. They're so smart! ;-) They take the oldest "story" known to man, and turn it into a blockbuster, and then WE wonder why we're drawn to it? Yes, I KNOW that the parallels break down halfway through - please don't come overanalyze the metaphor (Jesus didn't wear glasses or rubbery boots, it's true). But there always has been and always will be something in the story of Superman that we're drawn to because we LOVE the idea that a Savior would come to us, and that we'd be worth saving. We love to think that our Savior is always present, always available, and would even sacrifice himself for us if needed. Well, there was a Savior sent us, because God did think we were worth saving, and he DID give himself entirely for us. Superman was a strange, but true plan for saving the world, and he was only a movie character. Jesus was a strange, but true plan to save the world, only he's the real deal.

You know what else is funny? (I've mused about this idea in the past, so if this sounds sort of familiar, that's why). Christians...are a strange, but true...plan for saving the world. God didn’t stop sending strange messengers like the angels to announce his strange plans for saving a strange world when Jesus was born! Romans 8:11 says that the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you. Do you get that - the same strange stuff that was in Jesus and made him great is in every Christian (that "stuff" has a name - it's the Holy Spirit). Does that make you God? No. Does that mean that God lives in you? Yes. God stopped living in churches and temples and started living in the hearts of men and women who truly know him when he died on the cross and did that WHOLE thing he did. Now, instead of counting on people to go through a priest at temple to take care of their junk and sin, he counts on US to take HIM to people (since he's living in us - we're little living temples). It's like he spilled OUT of the temple into us - he became he his OWN High Priest. (Well, it's not LIKE that. It IS that. And now, because the High Priest is IN us, we get to just take him straight to other people.) See how that works? It's strange, I know, but true.

What's REALLY strange, then... is that he can USE little living temples like us. Strange that he'd WANT to! Folks who curse every once in a while, or who are Big Brother addicts (you KNOW who I'm talking about), and who post pictures of WHATEVER that is at 1AM, or who smoke, or who might not read their Bibles enough...or who DO read their Bibles a lot and like to tell other people that they do. Whatever. Whatever it is that you do that makes you a STRANGE choice for God to use... He still does. It's strange, but true.

Jesus was God's strange, but true plan to save YOU, and YOU are God's strange, but true plan to save the world. What do you think about that? :-) It's nuts!