monday’s blog was about miracles. in it, i touched on how the christmas season often affords us the opportunity to reflect on our lives and recount the ways that the world is impacted when we brush up against the supernatural. about how our physical reality is changed when we encounter Jesus.
while these miracles are amazing, inspiring, and encouraging, they are ultimately not the types of miracles Jesus came to earth to accomplish. they were not the end, but merely the means to a much greater destination. so what is that destination?
we celebrate it constantly during christmas. in fact, l’d say the vast majority of all the greatest christmas stories hinge on this one kind of “miracle.” so what is it?
transformation.
think about it. it’s everywhere.
in Dickens’ classic Christmas Carol, the miserly old Scrooge, cruel, selfish, hardened, and bitter undergoes absolute life transformation to become a kind, charitable, selfless man.
and what about It’s a Wonderful Life? We watch as the down-trodden George Bailey morphs from a stressed, depressed (suicidal even), weary workaholic, to the rejuvenated, lively, charismatic man of character he was all along, but had so easily abandoned in the face of trial.
the list goes on, including characters like the Grinch who’s heart grew three sizes, Walter Hobbs (James Caan) in Elf who learned the value of family, and from my personal favorite christmas movie, Christmas Vacation, Frank Shirley (Clark’s boss, played by Brian Doyle-Murray) who realizes that there’s more to life than squeezing the extra dollars out it.
now, of course these are great stoires. but ultimately i believe that the reason we fall in love with them, and watch them over and over again every year, is because we can relate. we’ve been that person. maybe you believe you’re still that person. but there’s hope in the transformation.
jesus did not come down to earth to wow people with his tricks. water to wine is a great way to win over a crowd at a party, and walking on water will make plenty of people scratch their heads – but the real miracle is that god’s love coming to earth has the power to transform. it turns the depressed into the abundant. it can bring sobriety and measure to the alcoholic. it can end drug addiction on the spot. it allows the abused to forgive. it turns the sinner into a saint. the sarcastic and skeptical grow in wisdom and humility. the greedy become selfless. the angry become patient. the prodigal is restored as a beloved son.
the love of god transforms spiritually dead, decaying bodies into entirely new creations full of life and full of his glory.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17)
I recently came across this video that I think summarizes why the World Race is such an amazing experience, and why it’s so inspiring to continue to be a part of it. It’s because ultimately, it’s a journey about transformation.
what would you write?
think about who you were and who you’ve become because Love came to earth. think about your own transformation. and then thank god for making you new.
