We have come to the end of an unforgettable year that has produced many defining moments. Rarely do those moments last a whole year, but 2020 has managed to do just that. Who would have seen this coming. I certainly did not predict this future. In reality, life isn’t as predictable as we’d like to believe and I think this year has taught us that very simple truth.
For centuries there was talk that a Savior would be coming. The Israelites believed that he would make all that was wrong right. He would come flying in on a helicopter with a mighty militia behind him and overthrow the elitist, ineffective and oppressive governments that the Israelites had to deal with. Not only that, he would then in turn rule the whole world and show them how a godly kingdom was supposed to be run. Like Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick...” He would make himself known in a big way. As the son of God, he would probably come from money, be charismatic, princely looking etc. He would be all the things they despise, but as long as he was on their side doing things their way, they would tolerate it. They had big plans for this Messiah, except it's not how things turned out.
Jesus, the promised Savior came from a rich lineage but obscure parents. His mother was suspected of being a little loose, his dad, too nice to deal with the situation like a man. And when Jesus was actually born it was in a place fit at best for the animals. A great start for a guy said to have come to save the world. But it is in this beautiful contrast of expectations that God reaches out to us and offers us hope.
It's the foolish things of this world that God uses to confound us. In the midst of drama and stinky circumstances hope was found. Instead of appealing to what we would judge as good and sensible God redefines our expectations. He exalts the weak and humbles the proud. Instead of a warring king on behalf of one nation versus another, he comes to save the souls of each man from himself. Jesus was and is the expected Messiah in an unexpected figure. With an unassuming form and open arms God freely gives us hope through his son. Swaddled in a feed trough is the hope of the world. The unexpected has turned the world upside down and in this case it was a good thing.
So all though this year has turned out to be an unforgettable one, I hope you have the opportunity to reflect on the not so obvious blessings of the unexpected and how it was during a season of turmoil and distress that God choose to offer the world its greatest source of hope in the unexpected.
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