We’re celebrating Christmas on the farm this year. It’s the farm where I grew up. We lived for many years in the suburbs. Now we’ve lived the last 4 years right in the bigger city. We love the buzz of urban life: the busy downtown, the great shops and restaurants, the constant people-watching.
But being here on the farm at Christmas brings me back. The pace is slower. The people are friendly. Neighbors plow snow for neighbors. You see the stars at night in all their brilliance. You see the glow of the moon on the snow covered fields.
The men gather in town for coffee in the morning. The weekly newspaper contains stories like Mrs. Gustafson had coffee with Mrs. Johnson last Wednesday.
Christians gather on Sunday in the small country church to sing hymns, listen to a simple message from the preacher and make small talk in the church entry before getting into their cars and pickups to go home.
Sure, the culture has come to the country. They have satellite TV. They use cell phones. Some have bought Harleys.
But life is good. Relationships are important. Values are strong.
Jesus was born in a small town. Bethlehem was a distant afterthought a few miles outside Jerusalem. At Christmas we sing about this little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Jesus was raised in a small town. Though Nazareth was on a trade route, not much happened there. Even one of Jesus potential disciples questioned whether anything good could come out of there.
Jesus did the customary pilgrimages to the big city: Jerusalem. But normally he kept to the out of the way places around the Galilee region. He often went out of his way off the beaten path into Transjordan, into the barren wilderness.
Yet even in the dark streets of Bethlehem God shined His everlasting light. In my small rural community, I found Christ. Our little country church made sure young people had opportunity to know Christ personally and grow into a deeper relationship with Him.
In this small rural community, there was a revival. I received my call to ministry at that time. Others of my friends were awakened to give their lives to Christ. In that quiet farmscape, God’s love and grace were very real. We didn’t have Christian TV, a Christian bookstore or maga-churches. Just godly pastors, loving and nurturing parents, great Christian kids to strengthen our faith.
So with all the rush of living in the city, I’m unusually content this Christmas to be in a quiet, slow, simple place, population 833, much like where Jesus grew up.
As the writer of Proverbs noted that we’re not to despise small beginnings, we too need to realize that greatness comes out of the most unexpected places. God has not chosen the rich or the wise or the important. “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 1.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
A New Kind of Leader
Our country is desperately looking for a leader. A recent TIME survey revealed Americans’ expectations of their presidential candidates.
For example: 25% of voters rate “Strong leader” as the most important quality in their candidate.
Interesting 39% of Republicans and 12% of Democrats view “strong moral character” as most important.
42% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats say they must be comfortable with a candidate’s character. That’s compared with 52% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats that feel sharing views on the issues is most important.
Hilary Clinton rates high as a strong leader, but short on sincerity.
Barack Obama is rated lower as a strong leader, but high on moral character.
On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani rates high as a strong leader, but suffers a low evaluation of character.
Not surprisingly, Governor Mike Huckabee does best on the moral character issue with 95% of voters giving him high marks, though he comes in lower on strong leadership.
800 years before Christ was born, Israel was looking for a strong leader to take them out of their political oppression. The prophet Isaiah delivered a prophesy to his generation. But that prophesy had a much longer view and more eternal significance.
“Unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. And His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government there shall be no end.”
Though their pagan neighbors were quick to ascribe divinity to their kings, the Jews were very careful to reserve such godly language only for Yahweh. Isaiah was clearly talking about a very different kind of leader than the oppressed Israelites were crying for.
800 years later, Israel was again under the political and military oppression, this time under Rome. The Jews were praying, expecting, crying for a messiah that would throw off the Roman rule and restore freedom and sovereignty to the nation of Israel once again.
Their Messiah came. It was the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah 800 years earlier. And just as the ancient Israelites missed the double meaning of the prophesy, the people at Jesus time were expecting a much different Messiah than Jesus represented.
Though He repeatedly said His mission was to seek and to save the lost. Though he repeatedly said His kingdom was not of this world, most would-be followers couldn’t let go of the expectation that their messiah was a strong political leader.
His spiritual mission to give spiritual life and freedom was rejected by the worldly expectation of Israel’s citizens. So “He came to His own, but His own did not recognize Him.”
American is looking for a strong leader with solid moral character who will fix the political mess we’re in.
Well, we need a strong leader with moral character. But the solution is not in what Old Israel expected and American political pundits expect today. They answer for America this Christmas is to recognize the true mission of our Leader, Jesus Christ. He came to reconcile God and man. He came that man with man might be reconciled as well.
So this Christmas, though He’s not running for office, I cast my vote for Jesus.
For example: 25% of voters rate “Strong leader” as the most important quality in their candidate.
Interesting 39% of Republicans and 12% of Democrats view “strong moral character” as most important.
42% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats say they must be comfortable with a candidate’s character. That’s compared with 52% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats that feel sharing views on the issues is most important.
Hilary Clinton rates high as a strong leader, but short on sincerity.
Barack Obama is rated lower as a strong leader, but high on moral character.
On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani rates high as a strong leader, but suffers a low evaluation of character.
Not surprisingly, Governor Mike Huckabee does best on the moral character issue with 95% of voters giving him high marks, though he comes in lower on strong leadership.
800 years before Christ was born, Israel was looking for a strong leader to take them out of their political oppression. The prophet Isaiah delivered a prophesy to his generation. But that prophesy had a much longer view and more eternal significance.
“Unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given. And His name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government there shall be no end.”
Though their pagan neighbors were quick to ascribe divinity to their kings, the Jews were very careful to reserve such godly language only for Yahweh. Isaiah was clearly talking about a very different kind of leader than the oppressed Israelites were crying for.
800 years later, Israel was again under the political and military oppression, this time under Rome. The Jews were praying, expecting, crying for a messiah that would throw off the Roman rule and restore freedom and sovereignty to the nation of Israel once again.
Their Messiah came. It was the Messiah prophesied by Isaiah 800 years earlier. And just as the ancient Israelites missed the double meaning of the prophesy, the people at Jesus time were expecting a much different Messiah than Jesus represented.
Though He repeatedly said His mission was to seek and to save the lost. Though he repeatedly said His kingdom was not of this world, most would-be followers couldn’t let go of the expectation that their messiah was a strong political leader.
His spiritual mission to give spiritual life and freedom was rejected by the worldly expectation of Israel’s citizens. So “He came to His own, but His own did not recognize Him.”
American is looking for a strong leader with solid moral character who will fix the political mess we’re in.
Well, we need a strong leader with moral character. But the solution is not in what Old Israel expected and American political pundits expect today. They answer for America this Christmas is to recognize the true mission of our Leader, Jesus Christ. He came to reconcile God and man. He came that man with man might be reconciled as well.
So this Christmas, though He’s not running for office, I cast my vote for Jesus.
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