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I adopted some personal disciplines when I lived in Asia for a year as a graduate student. One was to read the Bible from cover to cover. While reading, I started looking for difficult words and hidden Bible points.
Whenever something sparked my imagination, I wrote it down in the back of my Bible. In preparation for this sacred season, a few weeks ago I revisited that list that had been ignored for decades. That day I discovered a forgotten passage from Hosea 11. Inside were his four words written in pencil. “They didn’t notice.”
I wondered. Who didn’t notice? And what did they not notice?
In today’s “tough times,” the powerful message of Advent reminds Christians to “look to God.”
I looked at the text surrounding that line and discovered who God’s people were. Obsessed with cultural concessions and national distractions, these Israelis became confused, angry, rebellious, divided, depressed, and joyless. Hosea wrote the letter when life was difficult for these people.
There is no better time than Christmas to reaffirm the nearness of God, the Prince of Peace and Savior of the world. (St. Petersburg)
But what didn’t they notice? It was the Lord Himself. The words “They did not know” are followed by the words of God, “It was I.” In all of their wandering and confusion, their fear and anxiety and loss of joy, God was saying that He was there all along.
Even if they weren’t aware of it. Maybe you, like me, are in a similar situation today. Amidst the trials and tribulations of the modern world, our ability to find joy sometimes becomes obscured.
There is no better time than Christmas to reaffirm the nearness of God, the Prince of Peace and Savior of the world.
When our children were little, we read to them C.S. Lewis’ wonderful book, The Chronicles of Narnia, about Aslan the lion, who represents the image of Jesus Christ. “The Horse and the Boy” is my favorite of the stories.
The scene in the book reminds me of Hosea 11. A boy named Shasta is alone in a dark forest with his horse, feeling sorry for himself because so many things don’t go his way. He was lost and wandering, feeling empty and tired, not knowing which direction to go, and tears streaming down his face. Sometimes he feels a little like us.
As I walk, feeling lost and feeling pity, I hear a noise nearby. It’s night, it’s dark and cold. You can imagine this boy’s fear as he hears footsteps and gasps nearby, just like in a Stephen King novel.
Someone or something was near him, but Shasta couldn’t see, which made him even more frightened at that moment. I could tell by the weight of his breath that it was a large and frightening creature. He remembered what he had heard once, that giants roamed this strange land, which frightened the boy even more. At that point, he felt the creature even closer, feeling its hot breath and cold hands. he couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Who are you?” he whispered.
The voice that came back was Aslan’s, “I was a lion.”
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“I was the cat who comforted you in the house of the dead. I was the lion who chased away the jackal while you were sleeping… I was the lion you don’t remember who pushed the boat you were lying in. I was a dying child.”
Aslan was always with Shasta. He saved him from disaster. He watched over him in his weak moments. Although he did not realize it, Aslan protected him, provided for him, and showed him compassion.
C.S. Lewis, famous for writing Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia, used Aslan the lion as a Christ-like figure. (John Chillingworth, via Getty Images)
So it’s Christmas time. We are reminded that Immanuel, Christ the newborn King, God is always with us. Even when we don’t realize it.
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As one poet writes, like the relentless hound of heaven, Christ pursues us with eternal love, waiting to rescue us from despair and hopelessness. Even when we don’t realize it, God is always with us in Christ, even when we are in pain. Good news for Christmas. That’s good news for everyone every day. Joy is coming.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
