“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT
Growing up on the edge of London, my dad usually took us to meet Santa in Selfridges, to see the lights of Regent and Oxford Street and to gather beneath the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, a gift of appreciation from the Norwegian people following the Second World War. My dad often joked that the lights were in my honour since the tradition started in the year of my birth. I still like to go and view what my dad called “my lights” every year.
The nature of our friendship with God is one of family. We move from orphan to adopted child as we turn to God. Family offers wise counsel, stability, security and a rhythm around which to order life. These are in fact the great gifts God brings, according to the prophet Isaiah, and what I most need from Church. Jesus lived a life revealing how each of us might now live in complete safety within the promises of God. Yet, my mind still disturbs that peace with my own anxieties, and my behaviours continue to work to deny the truth that I am complete in Christ Jesus. These are the areas of my life that weigh most heavily and ones that I seek first to acknowledge and then to address in this run-up to Christmas.
As a child, I can remember gazing up to the top of the 25m Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square; its height was huge, disappearing into the sky. Today, I’m not so easily impressed and the height has shrunk as I’ve grown. It’s all too easy to reduce the nature of all God is and all he has done as a consequence of feeling grown-up.
QUESTION – Consider Isaiah’s description of Jesus. Which characteristic do you most require in this time?
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, may your peace extend to many more people this Christmas.
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