Good News: A God with Good Will for all People!

The dramatic announcement made to the shepherds is truly good news about what God is like! Unfortunately, in much of her history the church has lived and interpreted the story of Jesus in such a way that it doesn't come across as very good news. Let's listen once more to the angelic announcement: 

 

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 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 and love 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 gifts of pure love and affection.

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 the disenfranchised of society 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 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. Do we dare believe there is such a God?

God is Like the Childlike Jesus

God's coming as a baby highlights what he's like and what he prioritizes. The following are random thoughts about what this means; you will have other insights to add:

Dependent on flawed creatures: a baby doesn't chafe about needing others nor about their imperfections. God genuinely wants to partner with flawed humans; he shows this by his lowly birth in which he emptied himself completely and relied on the protection and upbringing of a poor Jewish family and community of the first century. He never quit relying on others as an adult.

Unself-conscious: a baby is delightfully unself-conscious. God is not so caught up with himself that he has to have praise from his creation to bolster his sense of importance; he is secure in himself, not obsessed with his own glory but seeks to put others in the spotlight. This attitude carried on into his adult life where, rather than seeking to elicit praise from others or one-upping others we see him downplaying his own acts and uplifting others.

Not in charge: a baby doesn't even think in terms of who's in charge but simply is who she is, and as Jesus matured into manhood, He maintained this childlike posture; he lived and taught that in his kingdom there is no hierarchy where humans "lord it over" other humans.

Indiscriminate: a baby doesn't categorize people nor see some as superior to others; Jesus demonstrated by action and word that he saw all people as equal in God's kingdom. After Jesus' death, one of his followers (Paul) wrote eloquently that in Jesus there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female.

No agenda: goals and productivity are not what concern a baby but rather relationship. God cares more about relationship than about mission statements and strategic goals. Jesus did not establish an institution or corporation or religion but lived his life in simple and profound relationship with God and with people.

Non argumentative: a baby doesn't engage in the energy-draining exercise of attempting to prove himself "right" and the other person "wrong". God cares more about life (tree of life) than about who's right and who's wrong (tree of knowledge). As an adult human God didn't engage other humans at the level of knowledge but of wisdom.

Approachable, winsome, delightful: a baby is the safest and most approachable creature there is; in fact, she is approachable to the point of being delightful and magnetic, drawing people to her. God is delightful and winsome - easy and safe to approach for all humans; if we really knew this, we would desire him and be drawn to him.

God is like the childlike Jesus. He operates in an entirely different realm and prioritizes partnering with imperfect humans over acting independently,  other-consciousness over self aggrandizement,
organic over organization,  inclusion over exclusion,  relationship over agenda,  giving life over winning debates,  and approachability over rules.

Because the kingdoms of this world require independence, self-aggrandizement, hierarchy, tribalism, personal agendas, winning, rules and regulations in order to survive, Jesus' life and teachings and actions were a threat to their existence, and so they murdered him. We who follow him are called to deny the false 'adult' self that is easily seduced by earthly kingdom values and take up the cross of childlikeness as Jesus did. This is how we incarnate God in the eyes of others.

Jesus...or my Beliefs about Jesus?

"Following Jesus is about transformation", says Marcus Borg. In Romans 12:1,2 the apostle Paul tells us that transformation happens by the renewing of our minds. Borg says that the word "minds" here is a "comprehensive image for a way of seeing reality."

Transformation is another way of speaking of maturing; maturing implies changing. It's a never-ending process for the follower of Jesus. And so we should expect to be changing our minds, or changing how we see reality, throughout the course of our life. It boils down to being at peace without having certainty. Without this, I think it's legitimate to question if transformation is taking place. It's possible to be spiritual without having renewed the mind.

Unfortunately, we in the western evangelical world have accepted the idea that being a follower of Jesus is primarily to adhere to a set of beliefs about him; we judge ourselves and others as being followers of Jesus or not according to what a person says they "believe". Consequently, one can buy into a set of doctrinal beliefs and not experience deep inner change nor change how they live their lives. They feel they don't need to ever explore where or how they came to believe or if there might be more that they could learn from other ways of seeing that are outside their paradigm.

Because evangelicalism has devolved into adhering to a prescribed list of beliefs about Jesus that places emphasis on being sure and certain about God and life, we are afraid and refuse to listen to those who might see reality differently from the way we see reality because this would shake the 'sure foundation' on which we have stood. Consequently, true transformation doesn't happen; we find peace in staying within the safety of the worldview of our past. This is the easy but limiting way.

Changing the way I see reality is hard painful work; it's costly and takes time and energy. I would suggest that true transformation by the 'renewing of the mind' is impossible without three things working together: one is the work of God's Spirit, the second is willingness and openness in the heart and mind of the person involved, and the third is a community of those who understand this experience and will walk with the follower to help him/her make mindset changes in his/her journey. 

Because it's impossible to know God fully, we should expect to always be changing our thinking about him; there should be unending expansion in one's heart and mind. The goal in seeking to know and follow him is not to trade one set of beliefs for another, thereby finding peace and certainty in another way of thinking; the goal is to become comfortable and at peace with not knowing and not being certain of beliefs but being certain of the goodness and love of God for all humanity and living as best I know how in love for others as Jesus did.

Since intentionally opening my mind and heart to the Spirit of God and partnering with others in this journey, there has been ongoing renewing of the mind happening in me that has enlarged my heart related to God and to people...people who in the past I judged wrongly and was not willing to listen to. 

In conclusion I freely offer my help to anyone who might want a little aid to take a step in this challenge.  It's a mind-blowing experience that is well worth the time and effort required! If you're interested in further discussion, you can email me at nita.steiner@gmail.com.