“For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Merry & Messy Christmas to you! Did you have a silent, holy night or did your worship precede the harried clanking of the assembling of new toys? Whatever stage of life you find yourself in, I pray that you experience His presence today as the best present you have ever received!
At our house, the Christmas season starts off really messy with large boxes full of decorations littering our living room. It’s almost more than I can take. Strings of lights, garland, ornaments, and fallen pine needles get tangled and tossed between throw pillows, socks, blankets and backpacks. Merry and bright can turn into bah humbug and blah pretty quickly. The little bit of order we have turns to total chaos in the twinkling of a Christmas light.
What starts messy typically ends even messier on Christmas morning with a mass of colorful paper, ribbons and boxes strewn from one end of the room to the other. Piles of gifts, grouped by recipient, take up every space available; covering the couch and lining the walls.
Mingled on the kitchen counter are the remnants of breakfast and preparations for Christmas dinner. A basket of leftover biscuits, a half-eaten egg casserole, and several half-filled coffee mugs litter the table. Pushed to the back corner of the countertop is the cast iron skillet with packages of frozen cream corn left out to thaw. The cold dressing bread sits in its pan anticipating the leftover biscuits and broth to be mixed in and baked to yummy perfection.
Right in the middle of all our home, right in the middle of all our mess, there is love. You can feel it. You can see it. You can smell it and taste it. Love wrapped inside every box, baked inside every dish, filling our messy home with the gift that our souls need more than anything bought in a store.
And, right in the middle of our messy Christmas there is Jesus. In all His purity, holiness and righteousness, He came into our world to rescue us from the mess we’re in.
A stable filled with the sights, sounds and smells of animals had to be the messiest place to give birth to the long awaited Messiah. Jesus wasn’t born in a sterile hospital or a cozy room in a castle. He was born in a barn filled with livestock, manure and hay; into a world filled with the cursing stench of sin. The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace was born into the lowliest, dirtiest, messiest place.
God sent a glory-filled message that night that is as true today as it was back then:
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12 KJV
In the middle of our sin-filled, hope-less, tear-stained world, there is love; Emmanuel, God with us. He graciously poured Himself out, clothed His glory with human flesh, and entered our lives filled with dysfunction, sickness, sin and death. Into every broken home, hospital room, and grave there is His love that will not let you go. God’s unchanging, unconditional, unfathomable love wraps itself around our filthy, stinky, messy lives, swaddling us with His forgiveness, comforting us with His strong arms of peace, and holding us in His righteous hands filled with hope, the promise of everlasting life.
Merry Messy Christmas! Glory to God in the Highest!
His servant and yours,
Paula Nelson