Meditation: The Blessed Tension of Christmas
Monday, December 24, 2012 at 11:07AM 
Among the gifts of the Christ Child is the tension of his birth. God becomes man--not only a man, but a child. Centuries-old promises are fulfilled before our eyes, but we do not see them. Joseph adopts a son, who will later adopt him. Perfection comes wrapped in scandal. The Lord of glory came with very little glory at all.
Two weeks ago I sat with earnest young disciples who eagerly embraced the tension of God’s Kingdom: ever close, ever appearing, yet awaiting the full light of day. Together we explored that tension in scripture, and together we reflected on that same tension in our own lives.
“In what way has God’s Kingdom appeared in your life?” asked our young leader. “And in what ways do you wait for his appearing?” I didn’t get a chance to share my answers that evening, but this Christmas Eve I share them with you now.
God’s Kingdom has come! He has broken into my life: I'm grateful for his daily appearing in my family: where I am loved and forgiven, where I am known yet still embraced. This family is large and growing, beyond my wildest expectation. I'm grateful for the miracles I’ve seen: he has partnered with me in prayer for the sick, who are healed. I've witnessed the deaf receiving again their hearing; the barren conceiving children, and degenerative diseases rolled away. Eternal life, the with-God kind of life, does not begin some future day. I live in that eternal life here and now.
God’s Kingdom is yet to come! Together, with all who long for his appearing, I confess: I long to see his coming in me--when I will no longer be driven by the lash of fear or suspicion or the desire to put myself above others. I long to see his coming in the lives of my neighbors, so many of whom are captive to Xanax, OxyContin, alcohol, or weed, self-medicating their disillusioned lives. I long to see his coming when injustice is exposed for what it is, and the both the oppressed and the oppressors are set free from their bondage. I long to see the earth unfold in its glory, the glory reflected in God’s deep words over creation, “Behold it was all very good.”
God came to earth and lived incognito among us for 30 years. When at last he revealed himself we could not bear the glory: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:10-12)
My Christmas wish is the same for you and me. It lives in the tension as well: that we would all receive our birthright, and discover more of his Kingdom, and of its increase there would be no end.
Reader Comments (3)
A gift on Christmas, thank you.
Tension is from learning and growing in relationship through shared play and work to become stronger mentally, physically and spiritually together. The opportunity to become tense is the ultimate gift for without it we know nothing. The degree to which we care for our Lord, our neighbors and ourselves is shown on each of our tension meters (tensiometers). We must watch our meter for if the needle falls too short we will die and if it jumps too high we will die for life depends on moderation to continue.
We were lovingly created to share in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness within a very dynamic and tense world dependent upon friction and gravity to moderate our growth so that we might live forever; in the healthy way and at a healthy pace demonstrated by Jesus Christ. Tension when exercised in a healthy manner is survivable even though life on this world must be terminal. If Jesus and our Father are willing to share our tension with us, and we with them, then life changes for each of us at that moment from temporal to eternal. The gift of life willingly and tenderly moderated by our Father through the yoke of Jesus, our Brother, is the perfect tension of a life; not too fast, slow, short or long but just right to last eternally in His family.
I pray for all those who must struggle while fighting or working without their family (especially this day) that I might be free to drink from the cup of spicy family love; to relish and savor all its varied flavors of relational stress and tension. I pray for all those who are struggling to survive the stresses of this season with too much or too little love in their life unregulated by their heavenly Father and Brother.
Ray, thank you for a most appropriate Christmas message, Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thank you, Herm.
I love this post! This is absolutely great and heart-touching! Two thumbs up for this!