Unusual Wrappings (2)- He Likes Us

OBLIGATION TO LOVE?
My brother is 6 years younger than me. Like most siblings we had moments when we didn’t get along. During those times, my mom would invoke this family adage:

“You have to love your family, but you don’t have to like them.”

Although I took advantage of this saying as a kid, it sits wrong with me today. Why? Because it makes love feel like an obligation, and genuine affection feel like the higher value. Do we project the same ideas on God? That God loves us (begrudgingly-because He HAS too), but doesn’t really LIKE us?

TESTING
Not sure? Take this test:
Q: When was the last time you felt God was disappointed with you?
Q: When was the last time you felt God was pleased with you?
Why do we find it easier to picture God as mad, than smiling?

JESUS
We’ve heard that Jesus loves us. But does He really LIKES us? I think He does, and that the unusual wrappings of the Christmas story hint of Jesus’ affection for us. Starting with His arrival, and throughout His life, Jesus places Himself in questionable circumstances with imperfect people. Why? So that we’ll sense that He likes us too.

A QUESTIONABLE LABEL
The virgin birth might be the highlight of the Christmas story, but it brings a cloud of scandal with it. When selecting a mother for His son, God chooses Mary. She was engaged to Joseph and wasn’t supposed to be having sex with him or anyone else. When Mary’s belly swells, people start talking. They come to one of two conclusions:

1. Mary and Joseph had sex before marriage- which is a huge no-no.
2. Some other guy knocked her up- which is even worse.

Either way, they believe Jesus came into the world in the wrong way. His birth is seen as illegitimate. The whispers follow. People joke about Mary’s bastard kid. And God does nothing to clear His Son’s name. He is content to let Jesus wear a nasty label that follows Him for the rest of His life. Most of us have similar labels stitched on our souls. They say things like “cheater”, “quitter”, “liar”, “loser”, “addict”, “failure”, etc. They make us think that God may love us, but wouldn’t really LIKE us. Unpleasant labels don’t keep Jesus away from us. He wore one too.

QUESTIONABLE GUESTS
Other than the holy family, what humans are found in most nativity scenes? Shepherds and Magi. What do they have in common? Both are outcasts. Shepherds did a menial job that often left them ceremonially unclean and unable to be a part of Jewish worship gatherings. Yet, they are the first strangers to greet the Savior. The Magi were probably scholars from Persia. Despite their wealth and education, most Jews would have kept their distance- afraid to “dirty” themselves with foreigners. Yet, these outcasts bring the best baby gifts. For the rest of His life, this pattern continues- Jesus embraces all types of people. Although we’ve all known the pain of being excluded, Jesus accepts us. That was always God’s plan.

QUESTIONABLE HOMETOWN
We’ve all got places we’d never want to live. Places (and people) we look down on. “OH- you’re from __________? Sorry to hear that.” In ancient Israel, many would have placed Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth in that blank. Nathaniel did. Why? Nazareth was in the sticks. “Those people” spoke with thick, hickish accents. They associated with the Romans (in Sepphoris 4 miles away). Nazareth was “the wrong side of the tracks”. Guess that made it the perfect spot for Jesus to call home. What does that mean for us? Pedigrees and geography don’t matter to God. My background doesn’t keep Jesus from accepting me- and neither does yours.

EASY TO HOPE FOR, HARD TO HOLD ON TO
I can imagine a God who loves me. But a God who likes me? Whose eyes light up when I cross His mind? Wow. The idea warms my heart, but is hard to get my arms around. Maybe that’s why Jesus came as He did. So that we’d get the hint that he’d call us friends- no matter what labels we wear, how much we’ve been rejected, or where life has taken us. Isn’t Christmas great?