Finally God Unveils His Face!

To finish out the year, I'm sharing seven quotes from George MacDonald, thought-provoking words that may provide the reader with material to meditate on as we transition from the end of this year into the start of a new year. I've chosen different themes from his writings; perhaps one of these may catch your attention. If so, a helpful practice is to take a moment and contemplate it together with Him:

"God hides nothing. His very work from the beginning is revelation - a casting aside of veil after veil, a showing unto men of truth after truth. On and on, from fact to fact divine He advances, until at length in His Son Jesus, He unveils His very face. Then begins a fresh unveiling, for the very work of the Father is the work the Son Himself has to do - to reveal..."

"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest and most precious thing in all thinking."

“You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself." (Quoted by C.S.Lewis in Mere Christianity)

“...there is no harm in being afraid. The only harm is in doing what Fear tells you. Fear is not your master! Laugh in his face and he will run away.”  

“...though I cannot promise to take you home," said North Wind, as she sank nearer and nearer to the tops of the houses, "I can promise you it will be all right in the end. You will get home somehow.” 

“But we believe – nay, Lord we only hope,
That one day we shall thank thee perfectly
For pain and hope and all that led or drove
Us back into the bosom of thy love.”  

“It is vain to think that any weariness, however caused, any burden, however slight, may be got rid of otherwise than by bowing the neck to the yoke of the Father's will. There can be no other rest for heart and soul than He has created. From every burden, from every anxiety, from all dread of shame or loss, even loss of love itself, that yoke will set us free.”

May the coming year be one of looking into the face of Jesus and experiencing His work of "casting aside veil after veil...until at length in His Son Jesus, He unveils His very face." God is Christlike!  II Cor. 4:6  For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Astonishing News for Everyone about an Astonishing Person

In the previous post about "astonishing news", we looked at Luke 2 and the announcement made by the angel to the shepherds:

Luke 2 ^{- "}And in the same area there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. But the angel said to them, “Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was with the angel a company of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men.”

I want to follow up on how Jesus wonderfully fulfilled each part of the announcement that is highlighted above.

First, "Do not fear." In taking on human flesh and dying, Jesus faced fear and broke the power of the fear of death that haunts and torments every human. His pure love for humans drove out fear, opening the way to trust God rather than to fear.

Second, "good news of great joy." Jesus was the joyful good news. His presence among people always inspired joy and expectation. Here was a person who was fully alive, filled with the love of God for everyone. His presence caused great hope and rejoicing to all who were hungry and thirsty.

Third, "to all people." In spite of the fact that the first century world was "small" and that Jesus moved about in a very limited geographical space primarily among the Jews, He was always relating with and ministering to those who were not Jewish and left no doubt about God's love and redemption being for all peoples. In Jesus we began to see clearly that God has no favorites; all are His own.

Fourth, "the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." Jesus' life began as any human life begins - as a baby, helpless and vulnerable. The way He lived His life as a grown man reflected His identification with the average person. God came in a way that was unexpected and non-threatening.

Fifth, "on earth peace." This announcement of peace concerning this birth indicates that His nature is that of peace. In Jesus peace came to earth. Because He understood that violence only begets more violence, He did not try to resolve force with force. He lived this way of peace and His death manifested His refusal to respond to violence by use of force. He promised peace before His crucifixion and pronounced peace immediately upon appearing to His followers after His resurrection. Jesus was and is the Prince of peace.

Finally, "good will toward men." In Jesus God was showing that He has good intentions for humans, all humans. When we see how Jesus treated humans, we see the good will that God has towards us. God was in Christ saying through Jesus' words and deeds and the outpouring of His life that He loves and wants everyone to experience the goodness that there is in relating with Him.

...astonishing news for everyone about an astonishing Person! GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!

Astonishing News for Everyone

The dramatic announcement made to the shepherds about God's coming in human flesh shows us a lot about God.

Luke 2 ^{- "}And in the same area there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid. But the angel said to them, “Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly there was with the angel a company of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

                                                                 Glory to God in the highest,
                                      and on earth peace, and good will toward men.”

As I reflect on this beautiful portion afresh, I see the following truths about God in the highlighted phrases:

First, "Do not fear." This suggests to me that God knows we are fearful people and wants us to understand that, unlike the intimidating gods of the nations, He is coming to us in a non-threatening way. Rather than fearing Him, He desires that we trust Him.

Second, "good news of great joy." Our God is a joyful God with good news for us. This announcement isn't that of a vengeful, vindictive God but One, who like loving parents, is eager to surprise their children with a gift that the child knows he/she doesn't deserve.

Third, "to all people." This God is not tribal. He isn't coming for only one particular group of people but for all people, all nations. This is staggering news for humans whose bent is toward thinking that God favors people like ourselves over others.

Fourth, "the Baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." Wow! This God comes in the most vulnerable form possible and is born into the poor of society, underscoring His desire to identify with the lowliest and to come in the most non-threatening way possible.

Fifth, "peace on earth." This tells us that His nature is peace-loving and non-violent. He comes, unlike all other gods and kings, with no rivalrous nor competitive agenda, no need to prove Himself. The rule of His kingdom is a rule of peace.

Sixth, "good will toward men." This God comes with good will, good intentions towards all people. All other gods and rulers view people as a means to accomplish their agenda and glory. Our God is all about good for everyone.

This is an astonishing announcement! Everything about it shouts that this God has no animosity towards humanity but rather is madly in love with humans and will do anything to come to our aid. The world has never known such a God; but because He is how He is, He won't assert and force Himself and His ways on anyone; it requires a lowly attitude in us to see and receive the good news that the angel announced that splendid night.