Christmas celebrates the
point in time when the Kingdom of God grabbed hold of history and exercised control. It did so quietly,in God's timing, through the Holy Spirit in the lives of a poverty-laden, humble,
young couple in a wretched little country from a village that was not even on
the map. Their faithful obedience to
God’s direction meant overcoming the scorn and prejudice of their village. It included a dangerous journey by the
couple to another small village days away with the young lady at the
end of her third trimester of pregnancy.
The game plan was nothing less that the unprecedented revelation of
Almighty God himself in the form of a newborn baby boy. The event was prophesied for centuries, but
at the time of the event it remained inconceivable, beyond anyone’s
expectation and belief. It took place
outside the seats of imperial power, outside of wealth and status, and outside
the usual trappings of royal ascendancy. The Son of God, Jesus the Christ, was born and lived life fully human and fully divine.
The following events for The Son's subsequent thirty-three years
never varied from God’s long intended plan.
God took control and remained in control through the faithful obedience
of his Son even unto and through death.
God remained in control through the resurrection of the Son, the
ascension of the Son to the right hand of God the Father, and the fullness of
God as the gift of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, followers of the
Risen Christ. The Kingdom continues today taking control on earth as it does
in heaven. It calls us to the same humility and obedience as the
couple two thousand years ago who were poor economically, but rich in their
faithful response to God’s calling. Glory to God in the highest!
The Kingdom of God
is the be-all and the end-all of repentance, conversion, and the new birth.
That is of the utmost importance . . . the most amazing individual and social
fact of the universe -- the Kingdom of God.
- E. Stanley Jones
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