Every year in late December we remember the miracle of Christ’s birth. The King of the universe, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings became a human being in the form of a tiny helpless baby. His arrival was inconspicuous and unglamorous – born in a smelly dirty stable with a feeding trough for a bed, while the world hustled and bustled about its business.
Strikingly, the first announcement of His birth was not given to the religious establishment of that day, but to a group of shepherds – reviled, outcast, looked down on, and not even welcome in the temple. God’s message came to hearts unencumbered by religiosity. Their response was immediate obedience and eager worship.
Equally striking was that the second group of people to discover Jesus’ birth was a trio of foreigners. Stargazing wise man from the East, presumably from what is now Iraq, saw God’s sign, a bright star that could be followed, and recognized it for what it was while the rest of the world immediately around Bethlehem did not. They were excited enough to load their camels up with expensive gifts and travel over 500 miles to see this child.
Luke then describes in detail how, in keeping with Jewish law which requires a firstborn son to be presented to God as “holy unto Him,” Jesus was taken to the temple after his circumcision.
Enter Simeon.
Simeon was an elderly man with a peculiar call on his life. The Holy Spirit had told him he would not die until he had seen Christ (Luke 2:26). Now that Christ had been born and was being presented in the temple, the Holy Spirit compelled Simeon to go in and see the child. Since the Holy Spirit had a hold of him, he instantly recognized the inobtrusive baby born to two lowly parents from equally lowly Nazareth as the Christ, took it in his arms, and blessed it with a prophecy:
“Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
(Luke 2:34,35)
Especially that last sentence “so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” struck me. Thirty years later, as Jesus’ ministry unfolded, the kingdom of God He revealed to His disciples and hearers was a kingdom of the heart. Not a religious system. Not a doctrine or dogma. Not a kingdom of rituals and motions. Not a political powerhouse of wealth and splendor. Not an empire built on military strength.
No.
The Kingdom of God turned out to be a kingdom that had to be sought and desired. I think that’s why the Savior’s birth was announced to shepherds and stargazers, and why He was presented to Simeon in the temple. They desired Christ. They were seekers. Seekers are hungry for something and are willing to give up everything to find what they are seeking.
What they found, delighted in, and worshipped, was hidden from the world and its religious systems, because its adherents didn’t seek it. Their hearts were not aware of their need for a Savior, and therefore not hungry to receive Him.
The inconspicuousness of Jesus’ birth, the plainness of His appearance, His being despised and rejected by the religious establishment (see Isaiah 53:1-3), all point to an invisible kingdom that operates mostly under the radar and must be thirsted for, hungered for, hunted for in order to become real to the one who finds it and embraces is with their whole heart.
That remains true for our day.
Nations rage, peoples plot, religious leaders pontificate (even ones that call themselves Christian), church campuses, basilicas, and cathedrals stand in pomp and splendor, but what God is after is the heart. He discerns what goes on deep inside us and that is where He works to change us and speaks to comfort and strengthen us. That is where we desire Him and hunger for Him – or not.
That is also where we commune with Him. Rituals and outward appearances of religiosity won’t stand as the world enslaved to sin and Satan rages against us because it hates Christ. The daily condition of our hearts firmly set on Him and seeking Him daily will.
My encouragement to you on the heels of Christmas and on the brink of a New Year is to set your heart daily and firmly on the risen Christ and His kingdom. To live not according to the desires of your body and mind (Ephesians 2:3), but to live to seek Him above all and let the desire to know Him be your motivator to pray without ceasing, listen to Him, and let Him guide you through and shine your light in this dark world.
Great content! Keep up the good work!