Christmas in the Song

So, what was it like in heaven just before Jesus came to earth?

I picture a hatch; a mysterious trap door that's at the end of a long hall way, underneath the throne room. It's made of iron with a heavy wheel on the front that takes some muscle to crank - it hasn't been opened since the Garden.

Jesus is standing with the Father at the hatch. The voices of angelic choirs numbering in the thousands echo down the corridor like fans at a Super Bowl game. Their familiar anthems are full of sentiment. This is home. This is where Jesus is adored. Earth is nothing like heaven, although it should have been.

Jesus knows what earth will be like. He knows he'll be born on straw in a stall with animals. He knows his parents will be poor and oppressed by a cruel government. Jesus knows he'll have more reasons to cry than to laugh throughout his entire life. And he knows he'll be tortured to death.

This is his last chance to turn back.

Do you think, just maybe Jesus is sobbing, "Daddy, don't make me do it!" Or maybe the scene looks more more like a military exchange as the captain salutes the general. This is all about following orders, isn't it? Or maybe they both resolve that this is just the way things turned out and Jesus looks at the Father with a "let's get this thing over" gaze before opening the hatch.

Nope to all those scenarios. The real story is found in Song of Solomon 2:8.

"Listen! My Lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills." That's a lot of exclamation points and they're there on purpose. God is excited ... really excited.

Have you ever tried sprinting up an elevated surface? It's not easy to do, let alone "leaping across a mountains"! (notice the plural emphasis) Even Jason Bourne couldn't do that without the help of cinematography. Could it be that Jesus was in a hurry to get to earth?

I think Jesus ran down to the hatch with the Father close behind. After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek he opened the door and said, "See ya later, Dad." This was not a moment of hesitation. This was THE moment they'd been waiting for and Jesus leapt to earth, bounding over the obstacles of spiritual resistance. This was a man with a mission.

What did earth possibly have to offer that heaven could not deliver? People. Weak, human beings that no one else would even consider significant. But God took notice because humans are like hobbits - simple-minded, imperfect and incredibly gullible. Heaven was grand but nothing came close to voluntary love from weak, human beings. This is what Jesus came for and he couldn't wait to get the show on the road.

The simple message of the Christmas story is "God wants me!" Even now, he's bounding over the hills for the chance to prove it to you.