Emmanuel. . .the Church Gets Involed
I was thinking about the whole God with us thing and the fact that it happened in the most inglorious manner to the most inglorious people. Walk with me a bit here . . . God stepped down from heaven into a hole-in-the-wall of a barn to a couple of teenagers no where near their families! Go figure. I mean, who does that?
Definitely not the way we would have planned it, eh? I was thinking what we would have done - how we would have planned it if the church would have got involved. At the minimum we would have created some banners to put up around the manger. Gotta know someone would have written a cantata, or at least a choral arrangement that included some children and adults dressed up in sheets singing about His birth.
Then, we would have had someone create some graphics for Emmanuel so we could get a web page up and running. Then Google mapped that whole thing. And, no doubt, someone would have created an iPhone & Android app so we could track the whole process - travel, birth, etc. Of course someone would have called a friend who has a fried with a hotel chain so our Savior's parents wouldn't have had to stay in that unsanitary manger place.
When Emmanuel finally took His first breath of alien air someone would have been responsible for sending out a well written press release. The rest of us would have twittered, Facebooked, and/or blogged about it. Without catching a breath somebody would have contacted the all the baby supplies for stuff from free diapers, to food/formula, to a stroller, to a car seat for the donkey or new minivan - donkey's not good or safe enough for God. I think you get the picture.
Father, I'm so glad we weren't in charge of it. The way you decided to introduce us to yourself is a great picture of how you work in our lives to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God -
Are we? Are you?
Mike
Definitely not the way we would have planned it, eh? I was thinking what we would have done - how we would have planned it if the church would have got involved. At the minimum we would have created some banners to put up around the manger. Gotta know someone would have written a cantata, or at least a choral arrangement that included some children and adults dressed up in sheets singing about His birth.
Then, we would have had someone create some graphics for Emmanuel so we could get a web page up and running. Then Google mapped that whole thing. And, no doubt, someone would have created an iPhone & Android app so we could track the whole process - travel, birth, etc. Of course someone would have called a friend who has a fried with a hotel chain so our Savior's parents wouldn't have had to stay in that unsanitary manger place.
When Emmanuel finally took His first breath of alien air someone would have been responsible for sending out a well written press release. The rest of us would have twittered, Facebooked, and/or blogged about it. Without catching a breath somebody would have contacted the all the baby supplies for stuff from free diapers, to food/formula, to a stroller, to a car seat for the donkey or new minivan - donkey's not good or safe enough for God. I think you get the picture.
Father, I'm so glad we weren't in charge of it. The way you decided to introduce us to yourself is a great picture of how you work in our lives to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God -
God's power X the willingness of ordinary people to be used by you = the most extraordinary results.I think the biggest question we have to answer is the one Joseph & Mary had to answer: Will we be willing to be used by You?
Are we? Are you?
Mike
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