"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:1 KJV)
2022 is coming to a close and yet my word, ‘still’ continues to chase me down. The King James is arresting; “exalted among the heathen” feels entirely different than “exalted among the nations”.
This idea of us being awful is also a repeated theme. Ever since I read Brant Hansen’s “Truth About Us”, I’ve been thinking about. We are a sorry lot, only saved by grace. Brant cites Matthew 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
This shocking tidbit seems to be part of the Sermon on the Mount and therefore given to a Jewish audience. Jesus repeats it, though, straight to His disciples in a private teaching later in Luke 11. This should get our attention: the disciples were evil? It’s confirmed, though. I began Isaiah yesterday, stumbling over the parts where God laments the straight-up sinfulness of man.
Then I got a bit further into Timothy Keller’s Hidden Christmas; to the part where he laid into King Herod and his downright wicked jealousy for the throne. Herod was a mad man willing to murder babies in order to protect his interests, a grown guy intimidated by the notion of a newborn king. I was tracking until I read:
“In every heart, then, there is a ‘little King Herod’ that wants to rule and is threatened by anything that may compromise its omnipotence and sovereignty. Each of us wants to be the captain of our own soul, the master of our own fate.”
(Timothy Keller)
*gulp*
We are all for relating to the Christmas characters. We celebrate the faithfulness of Mary and appreciate the obedience of Joseph. We revel in the joy of the shepherds and the worship of the wisemen. No one wants to to hold a candle to King Herod, yet we all do at least a little bit. There’s a smidge of the selfish sovereign in each of us. We all participate in the ugly wrestle for the throne of our lives and the sooner we see it, the quicker we can correct it.
The book of Isaiah sets sail with this in mind:
"Even an ox knows its owner, a donkey recognizes its master's care, but Israel doesn't know its Master. My people don't recognize My care for them. Oh what a sinful nation they are – loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him." (Isaiah 1:3-4 NLT)
Humanity is fallen by nature. We are a rebellious and selfish people. Like King Herod, we fight tooth and nail for the throne of our life. Yet the little Lord Jesus wriggles His way on scene and into our hearts: tiny, righteous, vulnerable, dependent. He came in the most unassuming way possible. What will we do with the newborn King.
"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." (John 1:14 NIV)
It is in the stillness this Christmas we recognize the worst about ourselves: the constant striving, the ongoing battle to reign over our own existence and our inability to attend to our most critical issue – unrighteousness.
Amazingly, it is in the same stillness that we decide just what to do with the infant King. Will we acquiesce? Descend the throne of our own existence and hand over the leadership of our lives? The truth is, we need a holy God. He is the only cure for our sinful nature, the only hope of a different outcome.
Lord, we are sinners, still deciding how to live in response to Christmas. we recognize our fight for a throne we are unqualified to occupy. Forgive us. Keep us alerted to our Herod-tendencies. Help us re-surrender to Your rule again and again. Amen.