And so this is Christmas And what have we done Another year over And a new one just begun
John Lennon
A baby was born, but few noticed. Oh, they do now. Now that he’s a big star, pay attention. Everybody fusses over him and wants to know him. But it wasn’t that way back then.
Hardly anybody noticed when this baby, born as the poor black son of a crack-addicted single mother. Few paid attention when he was bounced from foster home to foster home or when he drifted through 11 schools in 9 years. But there was another mother who saw Michael.
Wealthy Memphis mother Leigh Anne Touhy found the poorly dressed teen wandering the street in freezing weather. And she did what nobody expected. She took him into her home – and into her heart.
As you know if you’ve seen the movie, The Blind Side, Michael Oher flourished in his new environment, earning a football scholarship to Old Miss, making the university dean’s list, and eventually playing in the NFL. The formerly homeless kid at one time was making about $5 million a year.
It’s a heart-warming story. But it also raises a troubling question. What about all the other “lost” ones? Will someone find them?
Some 2000 years ago, another baby was born – the one you thought I was talking about earlier. Much of the world celebrates his birth. But will we celebrate his life? As we spend profusely, will we remember his intentional poverty? As we rush from party to party, will we remember his quiet life? As we blink at the dazzling lights and decorations, will we remember his choice to be born in a humble garage?
Most importantly, as we enjoy our families this Christmas, will we remember Jesus’ mission to find lost ones and invite them into his family? Jesus told three parables (in Luke 15) about lost ones: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. In each case, the focus was on finding the lost. It’s why Jesus came – “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
God, living as human, was repeatedly found among the outcasts – tax collectors, sinners, women of questionable reputation. He came searching for the lost ones and would not rest until he found them – found us.
And so this is Christmas, and what have we done?
Comments