Getting Ready

It’s less than two weeks until Christmas, but a quick glance around my house reveals that we’re not ready.  The tree is up but boasts no ornaments.   Boxes of unpacked decorations sit still and silent. The dining table still sports autumn leaves and adventurous pilgrims, and the stack of gifts waiting to be wrapped is woefully small.  

It’s not that I’m a Scrooge; it just that the season has sprung quickly upon us.  Lest you think I jest, know that I wrote October on a student’s hall pass yesterday.  That seems about right—I should have a few more weeks before I start thinking thankful and at least two whole months to make a Merry Christmas.  But such is not so.  The day of celebration is fast approaching, and I’d better get busy.  

“Busy doing what?” is the question I now must answer.  Since there isn’t time to do it all, preparations should be prioritized.  I need to decide what’s foundational and what’s filler.  Tasks flood my mind—trim the tree, hang the lights, bake some cookies, mail some cards, finish shopping, and fill (no, first find!) the stockings.  The list is long and loud, but above all the mental hustle and bustle, I clearly hear the line from last Sunday’s carol—“Let every heart prepare Him room.”

Perhaps it’s time to realize that around Christmas I often get so busy cluttering my house, I don’t unclutter my heart.  Maybe I get so focused on adding to what’s already there—garland to a mantle, lights to an eve, and presents to already piled shelves—that I forget to take some stuff away.  I ruefully admit there’s always plenty to choose from.   Grumpiness should definitely go, with bitterness right behind.   My selfishness needs to be shelved, my impatience ought to disappear, and my pride, distractedness, and lack of trust should definitely be discarded.  And lots more will be still left to put in the box.   By astounding grace, my heart has become Christ’s home, but I need to make sure the King of Heaven is never crowded to a corner.  My own expectations, anxieties, and preferences should be removed, for He must have room to move and reign. Jesus is the undisputed reason for the season, and even if I get nothing else done, He should be delighted in and adored every single day.

The presence of the Savior was what transformed a lowly stable from squalid to stunning, and only His unhindered and holy presence in our lives will do the same.

Let every heart—and every home—prepare Him room.   

Starting with my own.  Right now.

Stairway To Heaven

“He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on earth, with its top reaching to heaven.”

                                                                                                                                                                Genesis 28:12

Although we’re not Jewish, a few in my family must be kin to Jacob.  Blessed with the ability to sleep anywhere at any time, these folks can rest in the rowdiest or roughest of circumstances.  I’m not saying I’m jealous, but the certainty of a good night’s sleep, no matter the conditions, would be rather reassuring.

Noise pollution wasn’t Jacob’s problem in the middle of nowhere, but his accommodations that evening were anything but cozy.  On the run from his brother’s rage, he stopped at sundown to sleep.  He had forgotten to pack a pillow, so “taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down…”  This should be no surprise when we realize how hard-headed Jacob was, but it couldn’t have been comfortable!   However, no insomnia inflicted Jacob.  He soon dozed off and started dreaming.

He saw a stairway connecting heaven and earth with angels going up and down and God standing at the top.  Jacob might have been in the desert doing his own thing, but God had an Almighty agenda for this deceiver.  In grace, God promised to give him the land on which he was lying and to go with him as he wandered.

Jacob awoke with a sacred scare.  “How awesome is this place!” he exclaimed.  “This is none other than the house of God.”  Anointing oil quickly transformed his stone pillow into a pillar—a place of connection and covenant with God.

Jacob’s ladder wasn’t about his climbing up. It was about God’s coming down.

As you prepare for Christmas, know that Jesus made Jacob’s dream come true.

Visions of sugar plums pale in comparison to the reality of a God who came to be with us.

So sleep well.

Double Trouble

“Isaac…loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”    Genesis 25:28

The Battle of the Boys began as babies.  The twins wrestled in the womb and wrangled during birth as Jacob arrived grasping his brother’s heel in an effort to slingshot his way to the front.  But Esau was the firstborn, a position which carried great privilege—Dad’s big blessing for life and double bounty at his death.

As the boys became men, the match continued with the parents picking sides.  Connected by their passion for the outdoors, Papa Isaac preferred the rowdy Esau.  Mom Rebekah was biased to baby Jacob.  Quiet and kind, he hung around the house, helping with the domestic duties. “Isaac…loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”  And trouble was brewing.

It showed up first in a soup cauldron.  Esau, starving after a futile hunting trip, swapped his birthright for a bowl of Jacob’s stew.  In a moment of weakness, he gave away his legacy and gobbled the lentils.

The problems reappeared on a platter. Isaac, old and blind, wished to bless his oldest before he was buried.  He rang for Esau and requested a wild game dinner for the occasion.  Rebekah overheard the opportunity and wanted the best for her beloved.  While Esau stalked, Jacob schemed.  Dressed in his brother’s clothes for smell, with his hands and neck covered in goat hair for feel, Jacob served Dad a deceitful dinner and stole the special blessing.  

 

Enraged at the ruse, Esau made plans to murder his brother after he mourned for his father. 

Homebody Jacob had to run for his life and didn’t return for twenty years.

And nobody won the war.

Favoritism and fraud fare no one—especially families—well.  Deceit never wins the day and neither does a double-standard.  Our love can be expressed differently but should always be shared equally.

Be fair and don’t be false.  Your home shouldn’t be a combat zone. 

Happy Matrimony

“Isaac brought her into the tent…and he married Rebekah…and he loved her….”  Genesis 24:67

The match was made in heaven but the message needed to make it to earth, for Sarah was dead, Abraham old, and their son Isaac unwed.   The hometown girls weren’t exactly holy, so dad sent a servant to retrieve a relative for his son.  

The man was more than moderately anxious about this assignment.  Abraham promised an angel would go before him, but the servant heard no wings as he approached the well at Nahor. (Since women came to draw water in the evening, he thought it a good place to scout for a spouse.)

But before he inspected, he implored.  “Then he prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today.”   He asked God to make the choice easy and obvious—“Please, may the girl who gives water to both me and my camels be the one you’ve chosen as Isaac’s wife.”

Before he even said “Amen,” Rebekah arrived and gave him a drink to sip and his camels drinks to slurp.  The servant was delighted to discover she was the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother, and he bowed in worship.

Invited home as a guest, he wouldn’t touch his supper until he told the whole story, giving God credit for His kindness and praise for His provision.  Rebekah’s brothers realized this duo was divine, bestowed their blessing, and agreed for her to depart the next day.  

As she neared her new home, Rebekah spotted Isaac in the field and hopped down from her camel into holy matrimony.  The servant’s mission was complete, and Operation Hitch was a has-been.

If you’re married, you probably prayed for your spouse.  God answered when you asked, so praise Him for your partner.  Unlike Isaac, you got to pick for yourself, so celebrate your choice and commit again to helping your mate become all that God desires.

Love holy and wholly. That will make the Matchmaker happy. 

And you too.

Trust and Obey

“Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering…”    Genesis 22:2

“Abraham, take your son….”  Fear crept in after only four words, but God continued, “Your only son, Isaac, whom you love….”  The reminders of affection only increased Abraham’s anxiety.  “Go to the region of Moriah.”  Why Moriah? What will happen at Moriah?  “Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”  The dread of every parent—the death of a child, and Abraham must do the deed himself.

We’re not told how Abraham felt or what he said, but we know what he did.  “Early the next morning Abraham got up and…set out for the place God told him about.”  Abraham obeyed and Abraham believed.  

He stopped his servants short and instructed them to stay put.  “We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  Two would go and two would come.  Abraham knew God’s promise and trusted Him to do the impossible to keep it.  

Isaac noticed the wood, the fire, and the knife, but seeing no sacrifice, he asked dear old dad, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”   Abraham answered, “‘God himself will provide the lamb…’ And the two of them went on together.”

Surely God would have him stop before the top, but the summit appeared and the sacrifice approached.  In the ultimate act of abandon, the father bound his son and raised the blade. 

And then God halted from heaven.

Isaac’s life was spared.  Abraham’s loyalty was commended.  And a ram in a jam ended up as the offering.

We’re not told to kill our kids, but we must be willing to surrender what we cherish.

Trust and Obey.

Hold nothing back.

And God will provide.