CHRISTMAS: More than words could ever say

So much can be said without words. A rolling of the eyes, a shrug of the shoulders. A hug…a single tear. Sometimes words can even get in the way of the deepest expressions of love. 

The mysteries of Christmas are countless. The virgin birth, the seemingly poor timing, the announcement to shepherds by angels and a puppet king Herod threatened by the birth of one baby among thousands. But here is one more: God says so much with as few words as possible. 

The best friend of Jesus, John the Beloved, tells us that Jesus was the Word before time, the One who spoke at creation. Yet in a manger this same Person is reduced to coos, cries and grunts. Willingly. Not because He had nothing to say, but because of a choice. Because God loved the world, His Son descends from the dominion of the universe to diapers. God the Eternal Word lies in the arms of a teenager…speechless. But oh… how that silence speaks. 

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Regardless of the popular idea that Jesus was born on a silent night that was calm, the world did not lie in stillness. It was chaotic. Political upheaval. Tax reforms and Jews who would not worship Caesar as god, were forced to travel by foot and hoove to their birthplace__to register so the government could know more than you wanted them to know about you. So a very young Momma and a courageous but shaken Dad travel 120 miles to Bethlehem to obey the law. No healthcare, no ambulances, no epidurals. Amid a crowded city with lots of noise, a speechless Savior is born to say so much. 

So think about that today as the kids run, as family quarrels break out over who will be at what house and when. When you watch as loved ones painfully move through pain and babies cry in bassinets, remember this: God became speechless and in that silence He has spoken more than words could ever say. Forever, our world has changed and Eternity will resound for endless eons at the wonder of God speaking into our chaos. Those so-called silent years from 0-30 of a Man named Jesus forever says to you, “I love you. Your Father, God.”