First Word for December 2023

I love Christmas, always have, and I’m confident I always will. Sometimes I think I can feel my heart growing, it seems more alive, it is as if the eyes of my heart are opened a bit more to see the majesty of Jesus.

The sad truth is that you can be really close to something and miss seeing it’s beauty or grandeur. It is far too easy to walk past a beautiful stream without marveling at the sound of the water, or a magnificent towering oak tree and miss the fact that it began as a small seed.

John 12:21 says, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”

2 Peter 1:16 states, “…we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” 

I’ve been fortunate that I was introduced to Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas from a very young age—of the mind blowing, incredible reality that Holy God entered the world as a baby! 

Michelle and I both love the book God Came Near by Max Lucado. It is a favorite re-read of mine, especially at Christmas time. I want to give you a taste with an excerpt and encourage you to see the magnificence of Jesus…

“He was touchable, approachable, reachable. And, what's more, he was ordinary. If he were here today, you probably wouldn't notice him as he walked through a shopping mall. He wouldn't turn heads by the clothes he wore or the jewelry he flashed.

‘Just call me Jesus,’ you can almost hear him say.

He was the kind of fellow you’d invite to watch the Rams-Giants game at your house. He’d wrestle on the floor with your kids, doze on your couch, and cook steaks on your grill. He'd laugh at your jokes and tell a few of his own. And when you spoke, he’d listen to you as if he had all the time in eternity.

And one thing's for sure, you’d invite him back.

It is worth noting that those who knew him best remembered him as Jesus. The titles Jesus Christ and Lord Jesus are seen only six times. 

Those who walked with him remembered him not with a title or designation, but with a name—Jesus.

Think about the implications. When God chose to reveal himself to mankind, what medium did he use? A book? No, that was secondary. A church? No. That was consequential. A moral code? No. To limit God's revelation to a cold list of do's and don'ts is as tragic as looking at a Colorado road map and saying that you’d seen the Rockies.

When God chose to reveal himself, he did so (surprise of surprises) through a human body. The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails.

The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And tears...oh, don't miss the tears... they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been.

'For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.'

So, people came to him. My, how they came to him! They came at night; they touched him as he walked down the street; they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet. Why? Because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be Jesus.

There is not a hint of one person who was afraid to draw near him.

There were those who mocked him. There were those who were envious of him.

There were those who misunderstood him. There were those who revered him. But there was not one person who considered him too holy, too divine, or too celestial to touch. There was not one person who was reluctant to approach him for fear of being rejected.

Remember that.

Remember that the next time you find yourself amazed at your own failures.

Or the next time acidic accusations burn holes in your soul.

Or the next time you see a cold cathedral or hear a lifeless liturgy.

Remember. It is man who creates the distance. It is Jesus who builds the bridge.

‘Just call me Jesus.’”

- John Privett