Day 12: Every Child in Every Land
Romans 8:29 “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
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Let’s peek at who Jesus is before He comes to earth. Yes, Jesus is present before the story of the Nativity. John says, “[Jesus] was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:2-3)
It’s the beginning of time and Jesus is there.
He is creating. It is not surprising that He will later choose to be the son of a carpenter. He enjoys crafting unique works and soon a vast endless ocean of galaxies stretch to infinity in every direction. Each unique. Each shining in a different tone of every possible hue and brimming with stars.
“Good” God declares,
but God’s heart is a well of infinity, creativity, and soon He is at work again. Oceans teem with life, skies fill with birds and the land is covered with creatures. From scales to fur to feathers, every color is present in life. So many kinds of diverse species that they will never all be catalogued.
“Good” God declares.
He doesn’t rate His creation “Good” like a mid-level manager assigning a score of 89 out of 100 on a performance review. His declaration of “Good” is the highest score. Jesus will later explain “No one is good – except God alone” (Mark 10:18) so when He describes His creation as “Good” he is looking at this gallery of diversity and declaring it a reflection of His own nature. Jesus the Creator considers all He has made and decides He will make an even closer representation of Himself. He decides to create mankind in his own image. He creates creators. And in them, He places a seed that carries an array of colors. And when He looks upon these humans He has made, He blesses them as
“Very Good!”
Later, He surveyed the earth in a much different manner. He wore the very skin that He formed. He walked the ground that He called up from the waters. He came to create again but this time, He came to create for Himself a family. This family was founded with His own life, “given as a ransom for many.” And the result of His sacrifice is a family built through adoption. He made a way for us to become sons and daughters, adopted into the family of God. He grafted into His bloodline members of every tribe and every tongue. When He looks upon the diversity of this family, He doesn't shake His head and wish they were all the same color. Rather God looks at His family, shining in different tones of every possible hue, it’s diversity reflecting His divine nature, and He declares us “very good”.
The title of this post comes from a simple song my 3-year-old happily skips around and sings,
“Jesus loves the little children,
all the children of the world,
every child in every land,
Jesus holds them in His hand.”
Christmas is not just the anticipation of the arrival of Christ. It is also the celebration of the ever-growing family that He founded and gave His Name. It is celebration of a God who does not wash away our diversity, but restores to us the true goodness of our humanity. Look for the image of the Creator in the differences. Ask God to show you His heart in someone very different from you today.
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Copyright All images & writing © 2018 Charis Seed Photography