The Most Extraordinary Rescue Mission Ever

Have you noticed that there is a dispute over Christmas? This dispute is getting more intense as time goes by. This culture war is currently being fought in the philosophical/political realm by many (not all) of the mind-molders in education, media, law, and government. The fight is about who is going to control our current culture. The humanists are challenging the reality and credibility of God, the Bible, and Christianity. That's no surprise. It’s been this way since the birth of Christ.  

Have you heard the story of the three wise men or magi in the Bible at Christ's birth? Led by a star, they came from the East with great treasures to give to Jesus. Along the way, the magi talked with the government leader of Judah. His name was Herod. The wise men inquired, "Herod, where is the Messiah? We came to worship Him." Herod was terrified, and most of Jerusalem was as well. Herod learned from the high priests the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Many years ago, the prophet Micah prophesied about the location of the birth of God's son. The birth of Christ prophecies were being fulfilled right before Herod's and Jerusalem's eyes. 

Herod instructed the wise men to report to him where the Messiah was when they found Him. Herod wanted to kill the Christ child. We all know that most dictators and some (or many) politicians don’t and won’t tolerate competition. After the wise men found Christ, they gave gifts to Jesus and worshipped Him. Afterward, the magi were warned in a dream not to report Jesus’ location to Herod, so they returned a different way, another way home than the way they came. At the same time, Joseph, Mary's husband, was warned in a dream to take his family immediately and flee to Egypt. Who says God doesn’t use dreams to guide and direct us? 

Now comes the war on Christ at Christmas. Herod flew into a rage when the wise men didn’t inform him where the Christ Child was. Herod dispatched soldiers to Bethlehem with orders to kill/murder every male child two years old and under. Jeremiah prophesied this would happen 700 years before it happened. Joseph did not return to Israel until after Herod died.   

Great things seldom come without significant cost. Great things like Christmas threaten other’s agendas. Great things like Christmas put ‘do not disturb’ signs on many people’s doors saying, "Leave me alone. I'm living happily ever after." 

But great things like Christmas have the potential to take us to places and people we could never get to on our own. Do you know what? There is a bit of Herod in all of us that says, "Christmas is too much, following stars and wise men coming from the East, a virgin having a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, angels on high and shepherds in fields, and the Bible claiming that Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God was born. If I believe the Bible's account of the first Christmas, it's going to mess up my life. I gotta' control this. It's not on my agenda, and it's not my perception of truth. Christmas is a myth." And all the people of downtown Jerusalem say, "Amen." 

Craig Lounsbrough, a licensed counselor, describes the current ‘Pop’ Christmas this way. 

"Yes, without reservation, Christmas is bold, magnificent, and wonderful. And because it is, we cherish Christmas but often fear it. We want greatness, but we desire Christmas greatness on a leash. We prefer the leash to be short enough for us to control yet long enough to allow Christmas to retain some remote yet diminished flavor of greatness.  

"We want to feel the tug, nostalgia, and vibe of Christmas. We are elated by the wonder and captivated by the mystery of whatever wonderful destination Christmas might be prompting us toward. Yet, we want to have the leash firmly in hand should the destination God calls us to prove too obscure, frightening, or too much. We want the parts of Christmas that send exciting shivers up our spines, but we don't want the parts that prick our fears or threaten our way of life, thinking, or agenda.

"So, like Atlas Shrugged, we tame greatness, which is to kill it outright. How do we tame Christmas? We spin myths to temper the story. We create our caricatures to speak our lines into the script. We gift ourselves to enhance an adventure now lagging. As a result, we think we're on a grand adventure when we've completely forgotten what an adventure is."

Maybe now is the time to wage a war for the real Christmas rather than against the real Christmas. Perhaps now is the time to put Christ back in Christmas. After all, Christmas is the most extraordinary, perfectly complete rescue mission of all time unless we feel we don't need rescue. 

And, as I always say this time of year, the best presents are wrapped in heaven.