A non-descript night, in a non-descript village, to a non-descript couple, in a non-descript building reserved for farm animals. No midwife, no light, only the shaking, awkward assistance of an overwhelmed fiancé. These were the preparations God had set in place for this seemingly non-descript birth, the breaking into the world of men His very Kingdom now come to earth. Except that there was a new star added to the sky that night. Oh, and there was a celestial announcement made to hillside shepherds, followed by a sky-filling choir concert. There were also foreign dignitaries who, in their astronomy studies, detected the fledgling star and its prophetic implications. Oh yeah, there were these words downloaded from the heart of the Father to a prophet 700 years earlier:
[a]But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past
will come from you on my behalf.
3 The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen will return
from exile to their own land.
4 And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed
for he will be highly honored around the world.
5 And he will be the source of peace.
Micah 5:2-5 NLT
So, it suits God’s Plan ‘A’ to prepare well in advance but keep the details mysteriously tucked away from the prying eyes of curious men. It appears He has no plan to fit His purposes to those of men, not that men would understand. Inserting the entirety of the Love and Majesty and Power of the Godhead into the society of men took much divine planning, along with subterfuge and secrecy. It is obvious, now, that He disregards what society values. He shuns what society chooses. God capitalizes on the beauty of the simple, the unadorned, the potential in seed form. In other words, He sees us, just as we are, and decides to include us in His Plan, to enfold us in His Love with all simplicity and plainness (masking the breath-taking grandeur of this gesture). Imagine a shaken Apostle Paul when he realized, and later wrote, “For God, who said, ‘Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,’ is the one who has cascaded his light into us, the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ.’ We are like common clay jars that carry this treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours.” 2 Cor. 4:7, NLT. When we ‘gaze into the face of Jesus,’ we are beholding the fullest expression of the love of the Godhead. Looking forward to seeing all you ‘gazers’ tomorrow, 10 AM, 3 PM, UK. PD
