The Messenger

Mike and I have been attempting to do Advent devotions with the boys this Christmas. We read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible and then color a picture of the story and hang it on a timeline of sorts in our dining room. The time line will end with the birth of Jesus so all the stories are those pointing to Jesus. And as the time line gets more filled, the closer the boys know we are getting to Jesus' birthday. Anyways tonights story about Jonah really got to me and I have been thinking about it all night. In all my "grown up" bible reading this season, I do not think that anything has hit me this hard. The Storybook Bible wraps up Jonah by saying " many years later God was going to send another Messenger....but this Messenger would be God's own Son. He would be called "The Word" because he himself would be God's Message. God's Message translated into our own language. Everything God wanted to say to the whole world - in a person." Oh I just love this and it has brought a new understanding of the importance of this season. The coming of Jesus into this world was God's way of showing us in a way we could understand what He is all about. When we look closely at the birth, the life, the death of Jesus we are unraveling God's message to us. Jesus is everything God wants to say to us, everything God wants to show us, everything God wants to teach us. I can just see God pondering " how can I reach them, how can I make them see what I am all about, how much I love them, how much I want to be in relationship with them, how much I long to redeem them, save them, heal them....words just don't seem adequate, prophets and men of God won't do either. I know I will send them Jesus, a piece of Me, My Son, and His life will communicate everything I long to tell them and show them." And this was the plan all along. God didn't even have to ponder it, He knew this was how it would go from the very beginning. He knew this was it, this was the Way. I still don't think I am capturing with these words the wonder of this all. Perhaps I am truly getting this whole Christmas thing for the first time. How exciting to celebrate God's personal Message to me this Christmas.