December
29, 2013
From the Manger to a Mission
Luke 2:40, 41
From the Manger to a Mission
Luke 2:40, 41
SIS
– The example of Jesus Christ shows us that we all have a mission and we
must develop the spiritual qualities that help us fulfill that mission.
The
other day I read a story a man wrote about his grandmother. The man was a well-known preacher a couple
generations ago. He used this story as
an illustration of the folly of trying to survive and thrive without the light
of God in your life.
The preacher’s grandmother moved to the
United States from the former Czechoslovakia.
New York city was much different from her small farming community. One day she tried to cross the street against
the red light–meaning the on-coming traffic had the right of way. She stepped off the curb right into the path
of an on-coming bus before her preacher grandson could stop her. Fortunately, someone grabbed her and pulled
her to safety. After the preacher
composed himself and said a silent prayer of thanks, he scolded his
grandmother, “Do NOT walk against the light!”
The stubborn old grandmother snapped back, “But, I thought this was a
free country!”
This
is the problem, today. In fact, this is
the basicproblem of man. People feel
that freedom means they can do anything they want and get away with it. This attitude is epidemic in the church. Our nation, our churches, and our families
are discovering, however, that it is impossible to survive and thrive in this
world if we insist on “walking against the light of God’s love.”
Since
most of our lives are lived outside the cradle, we must develop the spiritual
qualities that help us survive, and thrive. Too many people feel that “freedom” means being able to do whatever one
wants without any negative consequences.
Too many Christians live as if freedom “in” Christ means freedom “from”
responsibility. The cold hard fact is
that this view of freedom is not the biblical view. In the Bible freedom always comes with
increased responsibilities. We are not
free to do as we please, but we are free to do what pleases God. What pleases God is to live for “the
mission.” The mission is simple: increase the kingdom of God on earth, as it
has already been ordained in heaven. No
life more exemplifies living for the mission than the life of Jesus Christ on
earth. His mission is our mission.
What
spiritual qualities does one need to accomplish the mission God has for one’s
life? In other words, how does one go
from the “manger to the mission” or from the “cradle to the cross?”
We
enter this world from the warmth and safety of our mother’s womb. We spend a few months in a cradle, we
graduate to a crib, we get our own bed, and then . . . before you know it, we
are out in the cruel world on our own.
We
need to learn the skills to thrive and survive outside the cradle to keep from
being eaten alive by life. If we do not
allow God to set the mission for our life, circumstances sure will.
This
reminds me of a story about a little boy. It’s an old story and many of you are
familiar with it. But, it is a good
story and illustrates my point. This
little six-grader had just started elementary school. Not only was he excited about starting
school, but he was excited because his Mom told him they were expecting a
baby. Every day he would tell his
teacher about the baby brother or sister that was expected at his house. He obviously did not know where the baby was
coming from, but he was excited it was on the way.
One day, his mother let him feel the baby
move inside her tummy. The little boy
was a bit confused, a little impressed, but he said nothing. He also stopped talking about the baby that
was expected to come to his home. In
fact, he never talked anymore about it with anyone after feeling it move inside
his mommy’s tummy.
The teacher became curious. She sat him on her lap and asked, “Tommy,
what has become of that baby brother or sister you were expecting?” Tommy burst into tears and said sobbingly, “I
think Mommy ate it!” Life can be
disturbing at times.
Life
outside the cradle can be puzzling, or even frightful, but it does not have to
be. As in all things, Jesus shows us how
to survive and thrive outside the cradle.
The Bible gives us the light of God to help us navigate across the busy
and dangerous intersections of life.
Our text gives us four qualities that are necessary for surviving
outside the cradle.
Let’s
read them together:
(Luke
2:40) And the child grew and
became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
1. Fulfilling our mission requires NOURISHMENT
“the
child grew and became strong.”
This is the natural
process of a healthy life. To get out of
the cradle, we must grow. To grow we
must take in food. Jesus was not born as
an adult, but as a vulnerable, developing baby.
He escaped the cradle in the same way we must escape our spiritual
cradle: we must eat. Jesus took in the
nourishment of his mother’s milk, and “he grew.”
When
we are born-again, we are not spiritual adults. We begin in God’s nursery. We need the “milk of the elementary
teachings of God’s Word.” The Book of
Peter explains this need:
(1
Pet 2:2) Like newborn babies,
crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
We
all know that you cannot give a newborn baby solid food, because even if the
child didn’t choke, she could not process the food and receive the nourishment
she needs to survive. Babies need
milk. Milk is predigested food.
A baby needs someone to feed it
predigested food, or milk. Preferably
this is the mother, or perhaps the father giving the baby a bottle.
A
new Christian must immediately begin feeding on the Word of God, beginning with
the most elemental doctrines. Every new
believer in a church should have a sponsor, or mentor, who provides these
elemental principles for a period of a few months. Paul identifies some of these basic teachings
as, “baptisms (water and spirit); victory over bad habits; laying on of
hands (spiritual giftedness); resurrection, and eternal judgment” to name a
few (Heb. 6:1,2).
Too
many new church members “skip the milk of the word” and never learn to digest
the “meat of the word.”
The
first characteristic to thriving outside the cradle,is to take in as much of
the “milk of the word” as you can, to develop a strong spiritual foundation.
2. Surviving outside the cradle requires
spiritual strength.
he
“became strong.”
Too
often we measure a man’s strength by what he can DO. Jesus always measured a man’s true strength
by what he what he was able to AVOID doing.
Might does not make right. We should
not always do something just because we can do it and get away with it. Surviving and thriving outside the cradle
requires more than brute force.
Our
text suggests that Jesus was a big, healthy, good-looking charismatic man, that
many people would have willingly followed in rebellion against the Romans. Many times, they tried to make Jesus their
King and try to overthrow the Roman oppressors.
But, the strength of Christ was found in
his ability to follow perfectly the will of God no matter what the odds. The Bible says,
John
4:34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me
and to finish His work,”
and to finish His work,”
Jesus
was driven by His mission. It was more
important than even food. Where did He
get such strength? To build strong
muscles requires exercise. To build strong spiritual muscles also requires
exercise. Like Jesus, we must constantly
and consistently discipline our will to conform to the will of God. Jesus feasted on God’s Word and it gave Him
strength to focus on God’s mission. It
gave Him the power to say “no” to the world, and “yes” to God.
Every
time we say “no” to the world, and “yes” to the Word, we become stronger. Likewise, every time we give in
to temptation, we lose spiritual muscle tone, and we grow weak. As I said earlier, if we do not allow God’s
Word to set the agenda for our lives, someone or something else will set the
agenda.
This
is why, for example, I am against any sex education that involves giving
children condoms. It makes them weak,
not only in matters of sex, but in every important matter of life that follows
after high school. We need to teach our
children that the only proper response to temptation is to “just say
NO!” Every temptation they overcome
makes them stronger. The Word gives us
the strength to say no to the temptations of the world and yes to God’s
mission.
Jesus
became strong by exercising physically and spiritually.
3. Survival outside the cradle requires WISDOM
he
“was filled with wisdom.”
Wisdom
is the spiritual skill of applying the facts of God’s Word to specific events
and circumstances in the world.
Here
again we have created a major problem in the educational system. When we allowed our public education to be
scrubbed clean of any moral or spiritual base, we created three or four
generations of educated idiots, or what C.S. Lewis called, “Men without
chests,” in his great work, The Abolition
of Man.
A
good example of this phenomenon took place a few years or so ago. A woman “set a new world record” for the most
babies delivered: octuplets. She is now
world famous as “Octo Mom!” Yet, she is
more to be pitied than to be envied. Now,
even the medical establishment is questioning the wisdom of this type of
“fertility manipulation.” With all sorts
of genetic engineering, cloning, and other technological Frankensteinian
projects, people are beginning to question the wisdom of unbridled
technology. Julian Huxley wrote about
the evils of unbridled technology in Brave New World, as did Alvin
Toffler in Future Shock.
Knowledge
is the ability to manipulate facts. Wisdom
is the Godly use of facts and information to bring glory to God and wholeness
to man. Knowledge leads to the creation
of Frankenstein. Wisdom leads to a
righteousness that brings blessing.
Without
wisdom, man acquires the technological information to build a nuclear bomb, but
does not possess the self-control to keep from using it.
Survival
outside the cradle requires a Godly wisdom, based upon a complete understanding
of God’s Word to know how what to do in a given situation. Wisdom is “applied knowledge” guided by God’s
Word that glorifies God and brings wholeness to man.
4. Above all, survival beyond the cradle
requires GRACE
“The
grace of God was upon Him.”
This
is a summary statement about the life of Jesus Christ, and by extension, the
life of anyone “upon whom God’s favor rests.” A Godly person is covered with
grace. Grace is an essential quality of
life if we are to survive and thrive outside the cradle. Grace, more than any other quality,
identifies a person as one “upon whom God’s favor rests.”
In
Greek, grace and joy are related. They are formed from the same root. A gracious person is a happy person; a kind
person; a person of goodwill; a gifted person; and a grateful person. Jesus was “smothered” with grace.
The
opposite of grace is awkwardness, vulgarity, and harshness. An ungracious person is someone who must
always be right. Thus, they are not fun
to be around and they usually end up with ulcers, and giving ulcers to those
that cannot avoid them. Ungracious
people are people who light up a room . . . when they leave it!
God
wants to smother us with grace. The Old Testament roots for the concept of
grace came from a word meaning, “to bend or stoop,” like one person
bending down to help lift someone who has fallen. Grace is gentle justice—or a “hand-up” to
someone in need.
Sir
Edward C. Burne-Jones was prominent artist in England over a century ago. He was a gracious, kind gentleman. I’ve always liked the story I’m about to
tell, but now that I am a grandfather, I think I understand it at a whole new
level. One day he was at the home of his
daughter having a formal, English dinner.
As a special treat his young granddaughter was allowed to join them at
the table–something uncommon in well-established English homes.
At the table she misbehaved. Her mother required that she stand in the
corner, facing the wall as punishment.
Sir Edward, being a wise grandfather, did not interfere with his granddaughter’s
training. But, he was obviously
distressed by the event.
The next morning he arrived at his
daughter’s home with paints and a palette.
He went to the wall where his granddaughter had stood in punishment and
began to paint wonderful pictures—a kitten chasing its tail; lambs in a field;
goldfish swimming. His paintings were
marvelous and brought an aire of delight to the room by painting that
corner. Sir Edward figured that should
his granddaughter need correction in the future (and she no doubt would) her
punishment would be both effective, and at the same time, pleasant. That is grace.
God
will not let us go without correction—but his correction is tempered with the
beautiful artistry of His grace.
God’s
grace allows us to leave a beautiful mark even on the most dismal of
circumstances.
To
thrive and survive outside the cradle, we must be smothered with the grace–the
unmerited favor of God.
5.
For your mission beyond the manger you will need to SACRIFICE (Lk. 2:41)
41 Every year His parents traveled
to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42 When
He was 12 years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival.
You will notice your Bible starts
a new section with verse 41. But, a very
important aspect of the life of Jesus is revealed by reading verse 41 as
continuing verse 40. Remember, there
were no chapters or verses in the Greek manuscripts. As we continue the discussion of the
development of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ we find him at a Jewish
festival. Passover is one of the three
mandated festivals Jews were obligated to attend each year. Notice how the text ties Christmas, the birth
of Christ, with Easter time, or the death of Christ represented by Passover.
The Feast of Passover, the Feast
of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles were all mandated activities for
Jewish families. If a family was too
poor to attend all three, Passover was the most important for it commemorated
the most important event in the lives of the Jews—being freed from slavery in
Egypt. Passover was also a prophetic
foreshadowing of Jesus dying to free us from slavery to sin.
The key component in the
character of Jesus can be summed up in one word, “sacrifice.” His family
dutifully sacrificed to get Jesus to the Jewish festivals. Jesus lived a disciplined life of extreme
sacrifice, and died as the ultimate sacrifice.
Christmas loses its foundational meaning if the birth of Christ is
separated from His mission to die as a once-for-all sacrifice for all
mankind. You cannot separate the manger
of Christ from the mission of Christ without gutting Christmas of its true meaning. Christmas is about sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrificed all the glory of heaven to
come to earth. His birth in a lowly
manger, His life as an itinerant preacher, and His death on the cross all show
the great sacrifice God made so we could have eternal life.
Sacrifice and death are not ideas
usually associated with Christmas, but Luke associates them here by continuing
the nativity story into the Passover season.
Sacrifice is far too disturbing a concept for people to think much
about, especially during Christmas. But,
as the Star of Bethlehem shone over the manger it cast the shadow of the cross.
As believers, we cannot fulfill
our mission without a great deal of sacrifice:
of our time, our talents, and our treasures. A
missionary in Brazil visited a market on a religious holiday. In one shop’s window was a sign advertising, “Cheap
crosses for sale.” There are not cheap
crosses for the Christian. Many would
like a Christianity without the emphasis on Christ’s death and sacrifice, but a
Christianity with a “cheap cross” is not true Christianity. It is a lie—the worst kind of lie.
Our salvation cost the Lord Jesus
Christ absolutely everything He had and everything He was to complete His
mission. For that mission to continue
through us, it will cost us all we have as well.
It is so sad . . . that so many Christians stop at
Christmas. They leave Jesus in the
cradle and crawl in with him. They never
develop the skills and character qualities to survive and thrive outside the
cradle. This coming year, follow Jesus’
example ---- GROW UP!
This will require spiritual
nourishment; exercising spiritual muscles; developing wisdom; being smothered with
grace; and making great sacrifices of our time, talents, and treasures.
You can—and you must—fulfill God’s
mission for your life.
But just like Jesus, you have to GROW UP!
But just like Jesus, you have to GROW UP!
<<end>>
