Year: 2014

Kathy Geary Anderson > Journal > 2014

A Savior is Born

Posted on by Kathy Geary Anderson

A cross forms the backdrop for my nativity scene downstairs. There’s a reason for that. I don’t know about you, but I need a visual reminder—not just once, but many times during the holiday season—for the real reason we celebrate.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas. I love how the season starts with “thanks giving” on Thanksgiving. I love the opportunity to get together with family members who live too far away. I love the familiar Christmas songs . . . the lights . . . the baking . . . the fact that everyone seems just a little kinder, a little more giving at this particular time of the year. I love the excitement on the faces of children anticipating Christmas day. I love all the warm fuzzies this holiday brings.

But I also know how easily I can get caught up in the stress of the season and start to panic over a to-do list the length of the Mississippi. I think we women especially can get entangled in our desire to create a Pinterest-perfect Christmas and, in the process, forget all about celebrating. When was the last time you stopped to truly CELEBRATE Christmas? Because as wonderful as all the trappings of Christmas can be—the decorations, the food, the moments with family— they are not the reason we celebrate.

We celebrate for the same reason the angels and the shepherds celebrated that first Christmas night. We celebrate with the same sense of awe Mary and Joseph must have felt when they held their baby for the first time and pronounced his name—Jesus. We celebrate with the same joyful expectation that Simeon and Anna expressed when they gazed into the face of their long-awaited Messiah.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOR . . .”  Luke 2:11

A Savior.

Our Savior was born.

Two thousand years into this age of grace, the significance of that simple statement often escapes us. But travel with me for a second back to the garden, back to that moment when Adam and Eve first realize the full consequences of what they have done. They made a decision to listen to the Tempter. They chose to be their own gods, and in that moment EVERYTHING changed. There was no do-over, no going back. They had lost Paradise. Their perfect world lay in ruins around them and there was NOTHING they could do about it.

The ugliness of death suddenly became very real when God sacrificed an animal to cover their nakedness. But in that moment . . . in the midst of the chaos of their own making . . . God made them a promise:  The seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head.

Did Eve look to her son Cain to be her Savior? Maybe. We all know how that dream ended . . . how far and how quickly mankind can fall when he chooses to forsake God.

But whispers of that promise continued down through the centuries.

To Abraham: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed . . .” Genesis 22:18

To David: “I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.  . . . Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”  2 Samuel  7: 12&16

To the Israelite nation:  “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Then finally, an angel repeated it to a young virgin and the promise was fulfilled.

Are you stressed out today in your efforts to create a perfect Christmas? Newsflash: There is no perfect Christmas. Pies will burn, siblings will squabble, whole families will come down with the flu.

But there is perfect love, joy and peace in the gift of God’s salvation.

Our Savior has come! Take time to CELEBRATE that this Christmas season.

Living in Unity

Posted on by Kathy Geary Anderson

Last month, my husband and I took a quick trip to Florida, mostly to get away from our Nebraska winter for a few days. While we were there we spent a day at Epcot. If you’ve been to Epcot you know it was designed to look somewhat like a giant World’s Fair. Its purpose is to celebrate man’s achievement in technology and science and in international cultures.

But what I came away with after that day at the park was not so much a greater appreciation of man as it was a greater appreciation of our Creator God. We were there during the International Flower and Garden Festival so we saw exhibit after exhibit of all types of flora and fauna from around the world—flowers in all shapes and sizes and miniature Japanese trees that were 35 years “in training” and still only a foot tall.

In one building we stood in a giant two-story aquarium and marveled at the sheer variety of sea creatures on display. In another we sat through a multi-dimensional film celebrating the vast variety of creatures that inhabit our land masses. But honestly the arena that brought home God’s infinite creativity to me the most was simply watching all the people.

Epcot welcomes more than 10 million visitors every year, and though we went on an ordinary Monday in March, we still were among thousands of other visitors. And after about four hours of walking, we were very ready to just sit and watch them. Better than any aquarium, the constant flow of people walking by us as we sat on a bench in the French section enjoying our strawberry crepes and ice cream was incredible in its variety.

People of all shapes and sizes and colors and nationalities rambled by. And after a few minutes of simply watching, I began to notice something–here and there–people walking by sporting headgear that looked like this:

 

From then on, we started counting all the Mickey Mouse ears we saw. I don’t remember our final number, but what I do remember was the amazing variety. There were traditional ears, fancy ears, ears with bling and ears without, ears that matched and ears that stood out from all the others, pirate ears, princess ears, wizard ears, bride and groom ears and every other type of mouse ears you can imagine.  In fact, there were so many different options walking by us, I wasn’t a bit surprised to see racks and shelves full of them in just about every gift shop in the park.

Why in the world do we need so many different types of mouse ears? I’ll tell you why . . . because not only has God created mankind in infinite variety physically, he also created us with different personalities, tastes, backgrounds and opinions. Which is what makes this—this living in community together—so wonderful. It’s also what makes this so hard.

I think Christ must have known the difficulty that comes with community. After all, his closest friends included a zealot and a tax collector. That’s like putting a Democrat and a Republican on the same committee–there’s gonna be sparks, folks!  Maybe that’s why his last command to his disciples was to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. And maybe that’s why his final prayer was a plea to the Father for our unity.

We aren’t meant to walk through this Christian life alone. We need Christ and we need each other to be truly effective.

In Ephesians 4:16 Paul tells us why:

“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

I love that analogy of the body. The heart is a vital organ to the body, but without the veins and arteries to connect it to the lungs and other parts of the body, it would be worthless. We need each member–we need each other–to accomplish all God has made us to do.

So how do we work together . . . live in unity . . .  when we are all so different? The key is Christ. He is the glue that holds it all together. He is the One who allows us each to use our own special gifts and talents—not so we can compare ourselves with each other, not to judge those who are different or tear each other down—but to help each other grow.

Maybe you look at the person next to you and say, I could never be like her, or you see someone serving in a particular way and think, I could never do what they do.

Maybe that’s the point.

God doesn’t want us all to look exactly alike. He didn’t create us all to serve in exactly the same ways. But he did create you to walk alongside others in community—to willingly sharing your own unique strengths and abilities for His ultimate glory.

In closing, I’d like to leave you with these final words from Ephesians 4, some good advice about what it looks like to live in unity:

“Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.”  Ephesians 4:2-6