a life of return

Christmas is over! Come on let’s go! Get moving! No time to waste! Move it, move it, move it! We have a lot of things that need to get moving again! Back to normal & quickly!

…wait!

At this point, if you stopped for one more moment, you may have a couple thoughts rolling around in your head. You may be looking back over the past few weeks and saying…

“Wow, that was great. I feel like I lived well during this season of Advent”

or maybe you are feeling more like

“Wow, I really messed that up. I gave it my best shot, but I’m glad that’s over”

I hope it is more of the former and less of the latter; however, either way, there is one larger question still looming. The question of…

“Where do I go from here?”

Regardless of your perceived “success” or “failure” this Christmas, it is now behind us. But this question of “where do I go from here?” Well, that is a really big question.

(Thank goodness we have a little help in trying to answer this question. Last week, I heard Dr. Mark Bailey make some of the following observations about the story found in Luke chapter 2)

If we return to Luke 2, we find that Mary has just given birth, and her actions immediately following are nothing short of incredible.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger”

Did you catch the incredible part of that?

Shortly after this, Luke 2:11 describes a scene where Angels find some shepherds in a field to tell them…

“And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

Did you catch the incredible part of that?

Look again at Luke 2:11 and ask “what was the sign the shepherds were to be looking for?” Was the sign the manger or the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths? This is very significant because…

…swaddling cloths were not just used for birth in biblical times. They were also used to wrap the dead.

I am told it was common for men and women to carry these swaddling cloths with them while they traveled. In the tragic event that they died along their journey, these swaddling cloths were used to wrap their bodies so that they could be carried home.

All of a sudden, this Messiah King who was wrapped in “swaddling cloths” gives us a picture of something far greater.

…His birth pointed to His death. He was a baby born and yet he was prepared for death.

So, if you’re still asking “where do we go from here?” I think the road ahead is clear. The road we’ve been traveling along through Christmas Change now leads us to the defining moment of the Christian faith.

…this road leads us to the cross.

Jesus, from the moment that Mary laid Him in the manger wrapped in those swaddling cloths, told us where He was going. We are simply called to follow Him there.

So, “Where do we go from here?” The answer first depends on our response to this question…

Is Christmas Change just about how we change our approach to Christmas, or is Christmas Change about how we change our approach to living?

because if this is about living in such a way that means following a King to a cross, we need to move very carefully. We need to move very carefully because that means that this road we are on has the potential to change everything.

For many, it has truly been a season of change, and the potential for more change is great. For others, we may not be ready to change it all, and that is okay. It is okay, because we are simply called to follow.

…However, the one thing that we cannot do is remain here.

We must continue asking the difficult and challenging questions that cause us to move forward as a community. It is in moving forward that we truly begin to understand the need for a season of change. However, as these seasons come and go, they must do so in a way that progressively draws us deeper and closer to the heart of our Creator. It must be a progression that moves in the direction of living out this idea of “a life of return.”

A life of return?

consider this King who…

…returned to the world’s brokenness and suffering

…returned to proclaim freedom for the captives

…returned to rescue, redeem and restore

…returned to bring good news to the poor

…returned to restore the prostitute

…returned to establish justice and mercy

…returned to feed the hungry and care for the orphan

…returned to bind up the broken hearted

…returned to adopt us as His sons and daughters

…returned to give us a future and a hope

…returned to rebuild the ancient ruins

…returned to restore the places long devastated

And this is a King who will return again…

…so, until that day comes, may we be known as a people who are the active foreshadowing of this returning King.