It’s time to Look.
It was the first word from the Angel to the Shepherds about the birth of Jesus…. “Look” or a better translation is “Behold.” Stop what you are doing and take note. Look and see what God is doing in the world. Behold that God has come into the world.
Recently my daughter forced me to “behold” all of the items in the kitchen cabinet under the silverware. You know “those cabinets”, the ones where you put all things you don’t know where to put… those too large to go into “that” drawer. She dragged it all out piece by piece. It was like a museum to every culinary phase of my life. The wok, the dumplings steam basket, the little dipping bowls… yes the Chinese years. The little crockery with the lids from the French Onion Soup phase. Roasting pans that looked like they came over on the Mayflower. Every odd piece of silverware that had ever graced my table. All of this crammed into one cabinet, gathering dust. Not only did my daughter bring it all out, she forced me to really “look” at each piece. The wok full of rust. The crockery chipped and broken.. the roasting pans… the Mayflower reference says it all. While it made for a nice stroll down memory lane, none of these pieces taking up space in my cabinet had any value. Each piece found its way into the trash can. And in the new space, she arranged many of the small appliances that had stacked up on my counter. A better arrangement all around.
Go back with me to the original announcement of Jesus. In Isaiah 43: 19 God says “I am going to do a new thing.” God is coming to the world in the form of a baby. And this baby, this man called Jesus will bring all kinds of radical new ideas to the world.
Do we need to make space for the new things that God continues to do? Do we overload our lives, like we stuff those kitchen cabinets with things that hold no value? Maybe it is time to drag it out. Take a look.. how we spend our time, how we celebrate Christmas, the things that cause us stress in the holidays. If we want God to move in our lives, we must give him the space to do so.
It’s time to Look.
Grace and Peace at Advent,