The Unwrapping of Grace
If you've been following along with us this Christmas, you know we're looking at the genealogy of Christ, traveling back to Genesis with Adam, last week to Noah and now we're going to pause at Genesis 12 with Abraham.
In Genesis 12, we see the unwrapping of grace - the very order of grace.
This order of grace is worth our pause today because here's what I know you and I - indeed all of us - share in common. None of us are saying, "Gosh, I hope Christmas really stinks this year. I hope I put a spoonful of Grandma's pudding in my mouth ...along with my foot. I hope Suzy's outspoken opinions really rub me raw. I hope ...(you fill in the blank)."
None of us want that.
I don't want us to put on our rose-colored glasses and ignore the realities before us either. Just like we talked about last week, there are hurts, habits and hang-ups lingering and weighing down many. There are family dynamics that are strained and the holidays don't always feel as jolly as they are expected to be. No, I don't want us to ignore the realities before us, but I also don't want us to spin webs of anxiety in these weeks leading up anticipating the gathering.
Instead, I want us to pause. I want us to disrupt the chaos of our days and invite the holy back into the holy-days. We spell holidays with an "i" and not a "y" but holy-days is what they are meant to be. Holy means set apart. These days of Advent are set apart from the rest of the calendar days.
In Genesis 12, God gives a gift of grace to Abraham. He instructs Abraham to leave the land of Ur and go into a land He has promised. God tells him,
"I will bless you ...and you will be a blessing to others." - Genesis 12:2
I will bless you. Grace.
The ribbon of grace unravels to the next, "...and you will be a blessing to others."
God desires to bless the people - the friends and family - at your Christmas gathering, and here's what's quite remarkable - He wants to use me and you to do it.
Yeah, drink that in. That's called grace.
God wants to bless you and me now, here today and in these days leading up, to fill us so full our only option is to be like the buckets of water at the splash pad on a hot, summer day... Okay, I know that metaphor sounds a bit like Christmas in July, but here's my point: our only option is to pour out.
The truth is - whether we prepare intentionally or not - this will happen. You and I will be a bucket that spills over. We will pour out whatever we are filled up with. If we are filled with anxiety and tension, we will pour out reactivity. But, if we are filled with God's grace and presence - His blessings, we will pour out His grace and presence - His blessings - to others.
Our focus today is to pause. To receive His blessings. Here's how we do this:
When we hear a carol sung, we pause and hear heaven echo the ancient promise, "I will bless you..."
When we feel a snowflake tickle our nose or a wintry gust wrap us in its chill, we pause and feel heaven remind us of the ancient promise, "I will bless you..."
When we're greeted with the chime of a bell or the rosy grin of a neighbor or stranger, again we pause and the ancient promise beckons us, "I will bless you..."
As we begin to seek and recognize the presence of God all around us, we pause and receive these with a heart of gladness and gratitude. Each one a drop of grace, each one a reminder of the ancient promise from a faithful God, each one preparing our hearts and minds and readying our hands and feet to unwrap this gift of grace so those at our table this Christmas will experience it for themselves.
Can you imagine dumping a splash pad, mega-size bucket of grace on your family this Christmas? Especially a family stricken with discord and disconnection from a past hurt? Can you imagine being the one drenched in second and third and fourth and tenth helpings of grace and not just mashed potatoes this year?
That's the zinger gift God wants to use us to give our friends and family. Not because they deserve it. Not because we deserve to be the ones to give it. But because God is grace. And it's His kindness which leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Repentance is necessary for reconciliation. Jesus didn't come to catch us in our sin but for grace - to set us free from the sin that has caught us (John 3:17).
If we will only slow down and open our eyes to see and our ears to hear this Advent, we'll see another miracle unfold. God will bless us - God will give us the gift of His presence through His Son Jesus - so we can be a blessing to others and serve as an extension of God's grace. Others will experience God's presence and warmth, His comfort and joy and love through us.
If we will only slow down and open our eyes to see and our ears to hear this Advent, God will make us a gift.
So, do not let these Advent days go by, blurred in all the chaos.
Pause.
Pause and receive.
May grace unwrap before you.
Be blessed, so you can be a blessing.
May every carol, every chime, every smile, every twinkle of light mean more to us this year than in the past. As we pause and drink in these moments, may we be strengthen with grace. May our joy explode as we begin to seek these moments with new anticipation and wonder and may peace be the blessing we get to extend to others from being made full of God's presence. May we rest from anxiety and tension and welcome the holy-days before as set apart, this gathering before us is a time of intentionally gathering together. Let Love lead you - let God lead you. Amen.
The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.
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