journey onWord with us

Two pregnant cousins: one shockingly aged, one scandalously young. A brilliant and boisterous herald to, perhaps, the very most unheralded. The One who spoke the stars and mountains and man into existence growing inside an unmarried minor. A very literal average Joe as the father of the Father’s Son. A Savior who: clothed His divinity in the limits of our humanity; chose thorns for gems in His crown; and death so that we could live. This was such a strange way to save the world.

The lyrics of one of my very favorite Christmas songs quite literally speaks to the miraculous truth of the first paragraph’s concluding sentence. “A Strange Way to Save the World” is written as an imagined internal dialogue of Joseph. A man with whom I can absolutely relate. No, not because I believe God could have chosen me for such a divine earthly purpose. But because we both could have never believed He would.

Infinitely beyond the shocks of a ninety-something, a not quite-yet-a-woman, and the humble man of trade is the one that God authored and Jesus chose as His way to save you and me. With all the infinite possibilities that didn’t involve the straight-jacket of our sin, why this way? The answer? Because there weren’t infinite possibilities. There was only one way. I love how the imagined lyrics of the song speak that truth. Imagined, from an earthly perspective, but can I suggest they could be as are the words of Scripture … Inspired.

But Joseph knew the 
Reason love had to reach so far.

I would be the first person to wrap myself up in the warmth of the season and settle into a cozy spot to drink it all in. The first one to travel the rabbit holes of deep meaning in the people and particulars of the story of our dear Savior’s birth. But I believe this story is just as much about the “mundane” as it is the meaningful. Just as much about the humanity as it is the divinity. But in saying that, please hear that I believe it’s the most wondrous and glorious both-and. This story’s humanity never rises above its divinity, just as Jesus’ never did. It’s a both-and just like Jesus not coming to abolish the Law, but to be its fulfillment—its perfection. The Law as God wrote and meant for His people to know and obey. The Law in the person of Jesus, lived out in the language of His sermon on the side of a hill.

So, how do the mundane and meaningful meet as a both-and? For me, the answer is a single word, rooted in a single Person … mystery. If there is one victim which is greatest in the dogged pursuit of this-world progress and knowledge, it’s mystery. In our seek, and even demand, to know why, we often insist on reason and hold-in-our-hands fact or illustration. Mystery, like faith, is more often than not in the crosshairs of the learned or wish-to-be’s. But mystery and faith are essential to knowing God on this side of eternity. One day, we will truly and fully know Him. Until then, mystery is a beautiful must.

Our song asks several beautiful why questions—why me, why Him, why here, why her? The story of God and His love for us answers them all. And the answer is necessary and life-changing. Knowing why shouldn’t be rejected in trade for the beauty in the mystery. The beauty in the mystery should be embraced in our asking why and how. They are not an either-or in knowing Him (and knowing Him more).

For me, this rediscovered and favored Christmas song invites us into a deeper and grander experience of the Advent and celebration of our dear Savior’s birth. It is that He came, yes. But it is also why, and where, and how, and when, and to whom He came. Every minute detail, a unique and worthy voice which join together in the most glorious harmony that heralds the depth, breadth, and beauty of the story of all stories—the story of His great love for us, and His coming to be one of us in order to save us. It was such a strange way to save the world.

Glory to God in the Highest.

I invite you to lean into the mystery and experience the song for yourself by clicking here.