There is a solution to the devastation of sin and death. And it is not a ‘what?’ What shall we do? What can we say? What is required of us? None of that. The solution is a ‘who?’ He. The seed of the woman. As you read the Bible, be sure to be looking for him![1]
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It’s really easy to go from “Who” to the “Whats” at Christmas. The big and little stresses and troubles scream at me to “Find the ‘what’ and fix it!” Maybe it’s just me, and maybe it’s a more male-brain mindset to jump to a practical solution, but I think it’s true for all of us at some level.
At Christmas, we can be so focused on the various whats of it all: What do I do to make all the Christmas events happen this year; what do I need to buy for my family; what on earth are we doing inviting those family members over – all sorts of different whats, some more noble and necessary than others.
Relational disfunction and a decaying world press us to other kinds of whats: What can I do to fix this relational breakdown? What do I do after getting this medical report? You can name more I’m sure, and asking those whats can be necessary and often good to do. Sometimes, the need to ask those whats can be unavoidably present and violently relentless.
The point is not to put heads in the sand and ignore the whats or act like everything is ok when it’s not. God doesn’t tell us to do that. God comes to reverse the order of our normal, fallenly-natural mindset. Instead of our whats driving us away from the Who, maybe the Who can give us good news in the middle of all our whats.
After Adam and Eve sinned, “the evidence of spiritual/relational death was immediate. They noticed for the first time that they were naked; they had never looked in that direction before. They began to cover themselves for the first time; they had never felt shame before. They hid from God; they had never felt the inclination towards separation before. They started to blame each other; they had never despised each other before.” What are all those relational conflicts around the Christmas table about? Why can Christmas be so painful for so many? Sin. “Welcome to death.”[2]
Why did Jesus come? He came to deal with our sin problem, and conquer death. That sin problem includes the punishment for sin that He took for us, yes. It also includes the whats of our lives too. Life is often so hard because naturally were all spiritually dead, and that means separated from God.
Disconnected from God, we are dead. The bond that unites Father and Son in the triune God was withdrawn from the pinnacle of creation—the pair fashioned for fellowship with the Trinity. Now the Spirit that united them to each other and to God was gone. They wanted independence. God pulled back and let them have it.[3]
The answer to all our whats isn’t God coming in and magically fixing it all in the way I often want to fix things in my life. He’s got better plans than what all my “fixing” could produce, which generally includes a selfish hope that nothing bad would ever happen. His plan is being with us, and to have us trusting Him in all our whats.
There is a solution to the devastation of sin and death. And it is not a ‘what?’ What shall we do? What can we say? What is required of us? None of that. The solution is a ‘who?’ He. The seed of the woman. As you read the Bible, be sure to be looking for him![4]
Maybe this Christmas you’re dreading the annual family meal diatribe. Maybe you feel crushed by recent news. Maybe you feel absolutely flooded with whats to do. Jesus came, and died, to be with you. That’s His solution to sin and death, and that’s what He wants more than anything in the middle of all our whats.
The whats are going to be difficult this year too – maybe, for some, more difficult than they’ve ever been. In sin and death, Jesus died and lives again to be with us. There is no relational breakdown so bleak, and no tomb so dark, that God will ever leave us alone.
What do you think? How can our whats drive us to the Who this year?
You can read more about Immanuel, God with us, here.
[1] Peter Mead, Pleased to Dwell, p. 27
[2] Peter Mead, Pleased to Dwell, p. 26
[3] Peter Mead, Pleased to Dwell, p. 25
[4] Peter Mead, Pleased to Dwell, p. 27
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Standing Before God, This We Are and No More 