Saturday, November 26, 2005

Welcome to Our World!

Our family went to the singing Christmas tree Friday. In addition to seeing several people from church, I was struck again with the miracle of the incarnation. God actually became man. Think of it.

The older I get and the more I know of human pain, the more unbelievable the incarnation seems. Why would God enter a world where husbands are unfaithful to their wives, where doctors say, "You have cancer," where parents grieve over their children and children watch their parents slowly pass away? Why would He do that?

It is a lot easier not to be involved. The incarnation says, "God is involved." God chose to involve himself with his creatures. It would have been so much simpler and less messy to sit in heaven and pull some hidden strings to fix the problems. Why did he step into the mess?

That's what love does. It accepts and carries pain. It steps into the mess. Welcome to our world!
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Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from god
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting
Welcome holy child
Welcome holy child

Hope that you don’t mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long awaited holy stranger
Make yourself at home
Please make yourself at home

Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
World now breaking heaven’s silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around you
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect son of god
Perfect son of god
Welcome to our world.
-- Chris Rice

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