Unconscious Tremors of Unspeakable Peace
Maybe it’s just me, but I love the feeling of getting into my car which has been parked in the sun on a crisp day, a cold day. The interior thrums with heat which the engine did not create. I don’t know what I like about it so much, but it’s better than drawing and then soaking in a hot bath. It’s nicer than our electric blanket warming up our bed. It somehow brings me joy.
Perhaps it is that I have not labored for it. I have done nothing to earn it or to create it or make it happen other than choose a fortuitous parking spot. But when I open my car door and slide in, enveloped by a hazy warmth, a shiver of contentment washes over me.
As the Christmas season flies on by with all of its happenings and events, the same reflexive trembling overtakes me. I have done nothing to earn this. I can do nothing to earn this. It just is. My contentment, my joy, my peace, and my smile come as I receive that which the season presents to me.
God is a faithful God. He is an immutable God. Who he was at the beginning is who he evermore will be. His character, steady; his love, unchanging; his plans, irrefutable and unstoppable, he regarded—continues to regard—his people and his creation with kindness and benevolence.
Considering the story of Jesus’s birth, God’s unwavering commitment to fulfill his promises floods me with fear and joy, hope and sorrow.
Fear as I realize the awful responsibility of my sin falls on the child born to a virgin and lain in a manger. Who is this Jesus, this Messiah, think King of Kings and Prince of Peace, who has every right to condemn me, to punish me for my sin, and yet willing forgives my debt to him by taking the penalty for it? I am undone at the overwhelming mercy of God.
Joy as I see the resurrected Savior victorious over the grave and sin and hear him say the words, “…take heart; I have overcome the world.”1 My sins, buried in the tomb, once for all, never to see the light of day again. Oh! The freedom!
Hope as I consider the implications of this freedom in the here and now—victory over sin’s power in my life, and there and then—an eternity spent with the Creator of the universe, of all life, the Living Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. I can scarcely imagine what the future holds but am certain God holds it and it will be glorious.
Sorrow as I remember the pain that my choices caused my Lord. Grief over my past brings tears to my eyes and fresh pangs to my heart. I should have chosen differently in the past; I knew better. This babe in the lowly stable carried my sins because I willingly oblige(d) my temptations.
My fear and sorrow would be insurmountable obstacles to joy and hope but for the grace of God to quicken my heart toward him, to exchange my heart of stone for a heart of flesh, to bring to life that which was dead. In that power, I am able to forgive myself, not to become further indulgent of my sin, but to live free from its guilt and shame knowing that Jesus put its death to death for me.
I shudder in wonder and warmth knowing God the Son stepped into the creation he created in order to save any and all who believe in him.
~SDG~
Photo by Mark Rabe on Unsplash
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 16:33.”