When our lives are turned upside down – or in the past few weeks in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions - blown in many different directions, we tend to do some inventory control. What is the status of the water supply, basic food stuffs, warm shelter, vehicle/generator fuel, etc.? A sense of uneasiness often prevails if status reports provide details that reserves are low.
A young couple on a special journey was thrust into the position of needing to take inventory. They quickly assessed their situation and knew an immediate need would be warm shelter. Like others, when pushed in unanticipated ways, the need also arises to be creative. For this young couple it would mean alternative lodging. A stable? Creative, but definitely unsettling for the location of an impending birth.
And so, the incarnate God entered our world in the midst of some upheaval. But if we step back and take inventory from an even broader perspective, uncertainty and upheaval are common descriptions of much of the human condition. This sweeping glance, however, can also help us in our understanding that this God-in-the-flesh is, according to the writer of Hebrews, the same yesterday, today and forever.
God Incarnate knew human upheaval from birth. This God intimately understands the human uncertainties we face and becomes for us the very rock on which we can stand in the midst of those uncertainties. As we enter Advent, take time to inventory your level of peace that is available through your relationship with the Prince of Peace. The reserves are endless.
Ann and I pray that your Christmas is a joyous celebration of the consistent status report which we receive in the good news of Jesus Christ. May you seek and find peace that is ours yesterday, today and forever.
