Have you ever wondered what pastors learn at seminary? Okay, let’s be honest…probably not. If I had a quarter for every time someone cracked a joke by calling it “cemetery” instead of “seminary”… Yes, there are times it is quite monotonous, but I remember distinctly one day when one professor simply posed the question, “Why did Jesus come into our world anyway?”
We aspiring pastors initially thought that was an easy question, and we came up with all the typical Sunday School answers: “to die on the cross”, “to save us from sin”, etc… But the professor remained unsatisfied. It turns out there were many other amazing reasons Jesus came into our world, not least among them to simply show us how to live. This is what we have been focusing on this Advent season at church, how Jesus’ incarnation teaches and empowers us to truly live a life full of faith-filled adventure through intimate relationship with the Father.
Hugh Halter, author of “Flesh”, shares this insight: “Jesus said that the whole reason He came was so we might have life – abundant life. He didn’t come and take on flesh so that you would someday (only) pray a salvation prayer, go to church, and settle for a semi-religious life. He has bigger hopes and dreams for you than that. He came so that His divine life could actually take root in you and so that you could relate to Him like humans used to before sin messed everything up.”
I think it is sort of like having Christmas every day. Can you imagine that?!? For some reason during the Christmas/Advent season, from the outflow of our joy we tend to:
Spend quantity and quality time with family and overlook our differences
Contribute charitably towards those in need
Spend time reminiscing about years gone by and sharing about God’s faithfulness
Generously give gifts to family, friends, coworkers, etc…
Experience a powerful feeling that leads us to pray, sing, and worship
To put it bluntly, at Christmas time we tend to act a lot more like Jesus! Let’s do that all year!
Three years ago my family and I had to abruptly leave the mission field in Haiti and return to the United States, arriving on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, we had to leave almost all of our presents behind, including a homemade castle my son and I had built from the leftover scraps of lumber left behind by various mission teams. The kids were very sad, and to help make up for it we ended up leaving up our Christmas tree that year until after Easter!
So why did Jesus come into our world anyway? He came so that we might experience life in, with, and through Him at all times, not just during religious holidays. So as you experience the joy of Christmas/Advent this year, think about how you can carry that forward into the New Year and beyond…
Cory Grimm