December 11th - dependency

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times." (Micah 5:2).

Something that comes across again and again when reading the Bible is that God cares about the small things.  He cares about the little people, the young girl Mary, the shepherds in the fields, the tax collectors and the prostitutes.  He cares about the little places like Bethlehem and Samaria and those back-of-beyond forgotten places where nothing exciting ever happened.   He cares about ALL of His creation, down to the sparrows and the donkeys.  I am supposing that I have little or no idea about just how much God cares for every last microbe of creation.  I am hoping that one day He will show us all just how much it all means to Him.

Last night I was sitting at my kitchen table painting Jesus stones.  I must have been there for a good two hours doing the same thing over and over again. When I am painting them I'm quite often struck by that whole idea of God becoming a baby.  Tiny and totally dependent.  Unable to do any single thing for Himself.  Last night I made a connection in my mind which I don't think Id made before.  And it has something to do with God never demanding or requiring of us something that He has not been prepared to demand and require of Himself.

God asks us to give ourselves over to Him completely.  To surrender our lives and depend utterly on Him for everything.  To lose our lives so that we can gain His life.  To take up our cross and follow Him in everything.

It struck me that in becoming and embryo in a woman's womb Jesus gave Himself over to US completely.  He surrendered His life not only on the cross, but way before that as He became utterly dependent on those He had created.  There is a beautiful reciprocity here..... Im not sure that I understand the mystery of what is gong on.   Jesus asks us to depend on Father God and put our faith and trust and hope in Him in the same way that He did when He walked the earth - and in some ways we can say ' Ah but You are the Son of God so it is easy for You to trust and hope and depend on the Father  because You are in very essence and nature God, how could You do otherwise?  I am just a mere mortal man.  It is so much harder for me to have faith, trust and hope'.    But Jesus can say to us ' But as God, I decided to put my trust and faith and hope and very life in YOU!  You trust in me because I Am Almighty God.  You have nothing to lose when you put your faith in Me.  But I had everything to lose when I put my faith and my very life in Mary.  Trust me, I really do know what it is like to depend utterly.  I know what it is like to risk everything.  I know what it is like to be completely vulnerable and totally invested.  I don't ask anything of you that I haven't been prepared to do Myself.'

When you think about it, what possible reason could God have had to come to us as an embryo in a womb?  He could have done it a thousand other ways, but He chose to make Himself tiny, fragile, vulnerable and utterly dependent on a woman, and a family and a tribe and a race that He himself had created and which had rejected and misunderstood and ignored Him for generations.  It makes no sense whatsoever.  And yet it is the only totally logical, entirely complete, deliciously perfect response to the fall of man and the problem of sin and creation's need for a Saviour.  I hope this makes some sense to you - it is hard to articulate what Im thinking and I definitely need to chew on it some more :)  In the meantime once again I stand in wonder at the amazing plan and the staggering bravery,  commitment and dedication of our humble, awesome Saviour.