Hush.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife,
The world hath suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled,
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not,
The love song which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.


It's Christmas Eve. The house is full of food, family and glowing lights, and I find myself upstairs taking a moment alone to think over all that has been happening in my life recently.

I love Christmas. I love the stillness and the mystery that surrounds the Christmas story. The idea of God sending a gift to His people, and in the form of a baby on a normal quiet night... maybe it's my maternal nature kicking in, but something about that is so precious to me.

The fact that God would even care to send a gift, much less His son to His people here on earth, is astonishing. And at times it seems unfair that he would lovingly send such a gift just to later take it away. I imagine the people of Jesus' day must have felt betrayed as they watched God's gift, His own son die a brutal death...but it was for their good.. for our good.. for my good. In His sending, he gave His love, but in His taking He secured our safety and our fullness with Him.

There have been times in my life where I feel God has sent gifts, just to turn around and take them away later. I often feel betrayed... but perhaps it's for my good... maybe, just maybe, in His taking He is securing my safety. Maybe in His taking He is ensuring me more of a fullness with Him.

It's hard to remember that in many ways the cross "began" at Christmas... but this year, after two thousand some odd years of wrong, I hope we can pause and hush the noise to hear the song of love, the song of God's gift, the song of the cross... the song of Jesus, the real reason for Christmas.