We’re well into one of my favorite times of the year (“Hello, Christmas!”), and to make it even better, later this week I’ll be officiating my son’s wedding. If I were any happier, there’d be two of me!
Normally, I spend a lot of time looking at the lights on the tree, and in the windows, and on the counters (we love lights, y’all!) as I ponder the mystery of the infinite God becoming finite like us on that first Christmas. But this year, there’s also been a lot of time spent thinking about how what I’m getting ready to do is a small picture of what God did when Jesus was born in the manger.
No, the wedding won’t be on a farm surrounded by noisy, smelly animals. But at the wedding, I’m the Father giving his son to his son’s bride, and that’s a lot like what God the Father did a couple of thousand years ago. He gave His Son to the world so that His Son could find His bride (that’s the church).
But unlike the wedding this weekend, the bride of God’s Son wasn’t looking to marry Him. In fact, we were looking for Him at all (except maybe to kill Him). Check out what Paul calls us in Romans 5…
Powerless. Ungodly. Sinners. God’s enemies.
We were in the middle of a big family feud, and God sent Jesus to bring us shalom.
Peace.
Not peace because He got rid of us so that He would no longer hear us fighting, but peace because He reconciled us to Himself and others and would no longer need to fight.
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. (Isaiah 9:6, emphasis mine)
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The Prince of shalom.
He has come to destroy the walls that divide us so that He can become the bridge that unites us, and that’s the real Christmas miracle.
This weekend, I’ll stand in front of Will and Corey and smile at the way they’ll look at each other. They’ll exchange vows and rings, and they’ll be excited the whole time at the thought of being together for the rest of their lives. Why? Because they love each other, and the two will become one.
But the greater picture of shalom is when two (or three, or four, or hundreds) can become one after years of being enemies. That’s the miracle of shalom, and when the world sees that picture of peace on earth, it’ll be hard to keep them from wanting to learn more about how they can have it, too.
