SCRIPTURE: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
This passage has been made popular in music by Handel’s Messiah and then cut by just about every other Christmas album over the past twenty years. My memory of this passage really comes from Amy Grant’s version. But no matter where you have heard this or have read it straight from Isaiah you cannot deny the fluid harmony of the language used to describe the coming of Christ. It is beautiful and positively reaffirming of the love of God isn’t it? Wonder Counselor! Mighty God! Everlasting Father! And Prince of Peace! There is a deep reassuring power in Christ and his impression on the world, yet even with this beautiful description it is like trying to describe all of earth by only showing a single blade of grass. So is the limits of the English language at times.
But when you’re a kid you don’t realize what it means. It sounds great yeah but where’s the new shiny bicycle I asked for or for today’s kids, where’s the new Xbox One or iPad? Even with all of the distractions of today Christ still does reign doesn’t he? Through all the consumerism that bombarded me in my youth, through the wishing for the snow covered yard and wanting to make a Frosty the Snowman the night before good ol’ St. Nick comes down the chimney Christ was still there. He was never in the background, he was always there. So is his reign.
I’ve come to find each and every year as I sit on this rock going around the big ball of fire that my personal journey with Christ is more and more introspective. This journey is mine, it’s personal, I can’t abstain from it and I can’t rely on someone else doing it for me. It is mine. And as I’ve come to realize this and take ownership of it I’ve found that the greatness of his love and peace has no end. We can sit in church, stuff baskets, sing carols, “do good” but can still miss the point if we don’t turn to him. We all must take it upon our own selves to accept the challenge that God has given us. Free will is the ultimate love since only through freedom to choose to turn to God or to turn away from God can one really love.
As I’ve become a husband and a father and wanting the best for our children I’ve discovered more about this wonderful counselor he is. As I have loved my kids so I feel he has loved me. As I will be there for them no matter what the cost so he has been there for me. Always in the front, even when I chose not to see him, he has been there. His teachings and his love for every one of us has never died, he has always been there. It knows no political bounds drawn on a map or is confined to a box on a shelf in a store, it is there in the ether of life, it has always been there. The Kingdom of God lives within in us, with in you, within me. We must never give up, never relent, forever passionately have the courage and energy to pursue it; through the sunshine and through the storms of life, we must captain our souls and use his love as our compass to peace here on earth and his eternal Kingdom.
PRAYER: Dear God, how grateful we are for your always being there for us. Amen
Stephen Belser
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