Green Pastures and Still Waters
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I wonder how much money is spent on advertising between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I read on one web site an estimate of over a billion dollars in 2015. Over a billion dollars to get you in their store or on their web site to buy more stuff! Ever wonder about God’s marketing plan? The universe is quite a “bill-board” but beyond that, how would we know what He wants? You might say, “Silly Pastor, Christians are His ambassadors, you should know that.” But, sometimes His ambassadors don’t leave a very good impression, then what? Does God have a PR Dept. to handle these situations? Looking back at the birth of His Son makes one wonder if God is into marketing at all. If Jesus was sent to save the world, it seems like a bigger ad campaign would have been helpful to get the word out. The people that did spread the word were not very reputable in all honesty. Shepherds? Seriously? Some writers suggest that God is a bit shy. But if He’s God, why would He be shy? Certainly he is not an introvert afraid to make a public appearance! The whole nativity story brings this “shyness” of God to light. For example, Bethlehem is an important city but hardly Grand Central Station. Location. Location. Location. ☺ Dallas Willard says that God is so big He has to hide…and if He didn’t hide we couldn’t hide. If that is true then God’s arrival as a baby in an animal hostel makes a bit more sense. The Nativity story would not seem legitimate if it was characterized by a marketing plan. I say that because God’s ways before that time and even today are not “in our face.” God is available to those who want Him and He is sufficiently hidden for those who don’t want Him. The Christmas story reminds us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Join us Sunday, we’ll explore this theme a bit more. Merry Christmas!
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The Urban Dictionary defines “giddy” this way, “to feel extremely excited as if you just saw a rock star, crush or celebrity that made you seem speechless or incompetent of acting normal.” I don’t think I’m overstating the case to suggest that Zacharias was giddy. What makes you giddy? A new car? A refund check? A big buck? A week of vacation? What made Zacharias giddy? You might think it was the birth of a son he never thought he would have or the fact that he could speak again after being mute for nine months. Those were factors to be sure but if you read his poem that has been called “The Benedictus” you’ll find nothing about his recovery and only two verses about his new son. The rest of the poem is about God’s faithfulness and tender mercy! I hope to be able to talk more about this on Sunday but Luke 1:75 seems to be a foundational reason for the excitement Zacharias was experiencing. The promises of God would result in an opportunity for fallen mankind to serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness! If that doesn’t sound good to you it is because you haven’t had nine months of silence to think about it! Zacharias understood from his meditation on God’s promises that His intentions for us are far greater than a comfortable life in this life. God decided before the foundation of the world to love beings in His image so much that He would make them like Him! But to be like Him means we have a choice in the matter. Some of the great questions of the Advent Season should be, “Do I want to embrace what I was created to be? Do I want to be holy and without blame? Do I want to stand before Him accepted in the Beloved? Jesus Christ came to make all this possible! Zacharias was still looking forward with a bit of uncertainty about how God would do this but we have the rest of the story. Hopefully, the more we grasp what God has decided to do, the more giddy we’ll become and we’ll get on with His purposes even now. 