Savior-Warrior-Baby

        How I love the Advent season.  These days and weeks to prepare for the Savior's coming--to contemplate what Jesus' birth means, to still our frantic busyness for some part of everyday that we might wonder at the astonishing, glorious Gift God has given us in His Son--the Lord God Almighty wrapped in fragile infant flesh. 
      Who could possibly imagine such a scenario?  The Lord lying in a lowly feeding rough?  The King of Kings arriving without any worldly fanfare or comforts?  The Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe born as an utterly helpless and weak newborn?  The Greatest allowed Himself to become smallest; the Highest became lowest; the Infinite and Eternal became finite and limited.  All out of His unimaginably great love for us--for you, for me. 
        But in these days of Advent, as you contemplate who He is and why He came--for your redemption, praise God!--please don't allow Jesus to remain as that powerless, fragile infant. Yes, that's how He came, and how thankful we all should be for such a God.  But He was and is so infinitely much more.  He is your Conquering King who defeated sin and death for you.  He is your Comforter who with comfort and encourage and guide you like no other.  He is your Wisdom. He is your Joy. He is your Hope. He is your Peace. He is your Love who loves with His perfect love.  He is your Grace. He is your Emmanuel who is always, always, always with you and in you. 
        But He is also your Lion of Judah.  Oh please, please remember that the baby Jesus is also the conquering, fierce, omnipotent Lion of Judah. He is Lord God Almighty, and there is none other.
        I have never forgotten the words of our dear friend, David Dwight, when our Janie was unconscious in the hospital.  I've shared them before but they are worth sharing again (and again!), because we all need the reminder of who our Savior is and what He is able to do.  We have so many very dear friends who are enduring deep suffering and sorrow right now. And this Advent--surely like every Advent--finds many folks struggling mightily just to find the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  And so might we all remember--

        And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

          David said he spoke with a Biblical languages scholar and asked him for his thoughts on this passage.  Here are David's words: "I will never forget his answer.  He said, "David, in verse 13, it says a "the heavenly host" appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and peace to men on whom his favor rests."  "This translation," he said, "is far too mild.  The word that the translators have called "host" in english is unequivocally the word "army" in greek.  The word is "stratia" and it is always and everywhere translated army.  In this regard, the Bible is saying that at the birth of Jesus, the sky was filled with a heavenly army - and what they said to the shepherds was something that feels much more like, "Glory to God, this is war, but don't be afraid.""
        When he said it, I was frankly stunned.  He said, "David, this is more fitting to the reality that Jesus was born to win the ultimate battle, and the capstone of that victory is the resurrection. The heavenly army said to the shepherds in essence, "you needn't be afraid, God does the battling and will win the big war.  You trust and walk with this savior-warrior-baby, and be at peace that the Lord's armies are doing the battling and that the victory will be won.  That's why you can rejoice - the victory will be won." 
        It has forever changed my sense of Christmas, in a way that gives me strength and hope."
     
        And it has forever changed mine as well.  If you are in the midst of some sorrow or deep disappointment or great loss, please remember who this baby was and is--He is the Savior-Warrior-Baby.  He is the mighty Lion of Judah, and He is battling for you...and He will always always always win the war.  We might feel tempest tossed, but our Lion, our Aslan, our Conquering King, our Savior-Warrior-Baby is fully, completely in control.  Our Lion of Judah will carry us through the storm, and one day He will still every storm, defeat every foe, wipe away every tear, and replace every sorrow with His perfect and unending joy. And nothing and nobody can stop Him. 
         Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming.  Thank You for coming as a fragile, helpless baby who understands all our weaknesses and fears.  But thank You also that You are our Conquering King--our Savior-Warrior-Baby who will swallow up death in victory. 
          Yes, Aslan, You are on the move and so even as we grieve, we can grieve with hope and with the sure and certain knowledge that You will right every wrong and reign victorious forever and ever.           To the Savior-Warrior-Baby, to our Lion of Judah, be all the glory.