As the World Sleeps

this was written in 2000. . . i tried to write something this week, but it didn't even seem to have any soul. That's what happens when you try to force creativity - it can't be done. If it doesn't flow, there's just no use even trying without it. Even though i wasn't inspired, i did remember this one, and fished it out of one my my folios. I remember the night i thought the thoughts. .I was fed up with the silly stuff we all feel pressured to do every Christmas and it felt so hollow - so I started to think about Jesus. . more than just thoughts about swaddling clothes and the "Bethlehem cast" - i started thinking about why He swapped earth-shaping, ruling power for risky, messy, ultimately fatal submission to the most important reconciliation act in the history of history -- Why did he accept this seemingly raw deal? In the calm darkness of my room i felt this "Grinch episode" within my own heart, you know? the growing 3 sizes? Only it wasn't something that i did, but it was something God did for me - and i knew why he agreed to it.. .. ... love. Love isn't logical.


Jesus, I think of you this cold Christmas night, as the world sleeps.
I think of creation. You made us to be perfect, like you and we loved you with perfect love.
I think of how we changed with that fateful choice, i think of what we became, how low we sank, how tainted and cursed.
The wall between us constructed sin by sin, choice by choice.
The depth of our depravity, the spread of our selfishness pierced your holy heart.
Your tears watered the earth.
You made a choice to step out of your glory and you came down to us.
You became one of us.
Your breath could melt the sun, but you breathed words of love to us,
even to those who didn't love back.
Your love cut through the darkness of our ignorance like a search light slices the night sky.
Something in us stirred - that long dead part of us.
You knew that it was your destiny to die and that your death would destroy the wall that our rebellion had built; the wall that keeps us from you. I don't understand this, its just so much to take in.
You bore the crushing load of our guilt and it was the death of you.
In your dying, you repaired the damage our choices had made.
When your work was done, your Father lifted you up and held out to you the glory you had set aside.
But you didn't sit back -- from then till now you have not stopped loving us, calling to us, hearing our prayers and praying on our behalf to your Father.

You gave yourself with no guarantee that we would treasure the pardon you died to secure.
Many have grabbed hold of the life you offer, though many don't honour your sacrifice, some don't even know about it and others take no time to think about or to understand the depth of your mercy.
We pierce your heart again and again and we are not properly sorry.

Jesus, i think of you this Christmas night, as the world sleeps.
As i think of you, this night's blackness becomes mid day and the bitter wind blows warm; caressing the earth and whispering your love to listening ears.
Thank you for making everything all right.
Thank you for not giving up on us.