Danger of the MangerPete Greig - 20 Dec 2012

Here is the second installment in the 3-part Christmas series written by Pete Greig.
You can revisit the first installment, Dreaming of a Dark Christmas, and check back on Christmas Eve for the final part.

What would have happened if Jesus had died anonymously in that unhygienic stable, thirty three years premature? Would he still have been the saviour if he’d died in infancy? Would we even know his name?

Children are tragically abandoned, aborted, abducted and abused all the time in our world. What if the baby Jesus had been treated like that? What if Immanuel had been neglected by Mary or surrendered to Herod? By becoming a baby at Christmas God gambled his whole plan of salvation on the intrinsic goodness and competence of humanity. Isn't that a mindblowing thought? Especially if you've grown up believing in the total depravity of the world. To put it another way, the one who would save us from sin and death, first had to be saved from death by sinful people. He saw hope and goodness in a sinful world

This startling realisation challenges me profoundly this Christmas to think about how I reach out to others and in particular how I witness to my friends, how I welcome them into my life, and how I worship too.

How I witness at Christmas

Christ's reckless grace at Christmas, inspires me to be more vulnerable too. Not to pretend I’ve got it all together but to let people see my many needs and to allow them to bless and help me before I try to return the favour. This might involve a simple action like asking a neighbour for a cup of coffee, or it might mean a massive thing like admitting my own struggles and asking a non-Christian friend to pray for me.

Sometimes we assume that our lives need to be perfectly-crafted Jesus-commercials. We worry that if we were to accidentally allow our non-Christian friends to see our failures, they would question the power of the gospel to change lives. But in fact, it is often when we become vulnerable and transparent with our friends that they also discover the reality of Christ’s presence in our lives. They see our many problems (which they’d always assumed we were hiding anyway), but they may also encounter the reality of Christ in us too. When we allow people to see our imperfections we also reassure them that they don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus either.

How I welcome this Christmas

At this time of year we tend to spend time with relatives who can be difficult, and we'll probably attend at least one hedonistic party. It’s easy to condemn. The example of God’s reckless risk in throwing himself helplessly upon a selfish world, reminds me that there is always something to be redeemed even in the darkest, most degenerate person or place.  Nothing made by God is totally depraved; everywhere there is beauty to be blessed, seeds of hope to be nurtured, the thumb-print of divinity to be discovered.  Before the fall, we were all made in the image of God.  And while sin is temporary, our divine nature is not. So I’m asking God to give me X-ray vision to discover his goodness in others this Christmas, however well it may be concealed.

How I worship this Christmas

Finally, I am inspired to worship in a gentler, more vulnerable way at this time of year. The fact that God became a baby reminds me to focus on his gentleness as well as his might. Amidst all the big, triumphant carols, I’m also going to take time to quietly tell Jesus how I love him and to be still with him. I’ll try to worship the way that Mary did: by caring for the One who has made himself so vulnerable to me.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but his mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshiped the beloved with a kiss.

Feature image is a derivative of the image 'Maternity Ward-5' by Timm Suess and is used by permission in accordance with commons copyright license terms.