The Smidgin

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

In a way, this verse from the classic Christmas hymn captures the themes that I’m striving to examine in this blog. Like the angels, we can also sing (and study) creation’s story. It is a story of beauty, wonder, and excitement. The origins of life, its development into the forms we see today, and the emergence of humanity serve to evidence God’s awesome power.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Not only do the angels sing creation’s story, they proclaim the Messiah’s birth! We live our lives in the middle of multiple dimensions: physical, emotional, spiritual. No single one will tell us everything we need to know about being human.

This Christmas day, think about what it means that God created the universe ex nihilo, that life formed and we evolved within that universe, and that God himself entered it in order to save us from our fallen ways. Think about these things, along with the angels, and ponder the wonder of this season.

Merry Christmas!

Starting one’s blog on Christmas Day lends itself to reflection at the end of every year. December 25 is one of those days that never gets by without being noticed. I began in 2006 by combining reflections on a SciFi movie and a hymn, a sort of foreshadowing of the Smidgin’s current tagline: “an eclectic collection.”  Despite the odd combination, however, the message was relevant: we are not meant to live for ourselves.

My reflection the next year was short, but focused on a variation of the same theme.  We are not meant to live for ourselves, and thus Christ died for us that we might follow Him.

This year my Christmas thoughts come a bit early, as I prepare to leave for a European tour over the holidays. Read the rest of this entry »

It is now exactly one year since I started the Smidgin. Last night at the Christmas Eve service we again sang “From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable” and I was reminded of why I like the hymn so much. This year it is the second verse that rings especially true:

King of heaven now the Friend of sinners,
Humble servant in the Father’s hands,
Filled with power and the Holy Spirit,
Filled with mercy for the broken man.
Yes, He walked my road and He felt my pain,
Joys and sorrows that I know so well;
Yet His righteous steps give me hope again -
I will follow my Immanuel!

The words speak for themselves. What a marvelous picture of our Christian faith.

Merry Christmas!