Tiny Devotional for Christmas Day, Friday, 12-25-2020

 A great good CHRISTMAS MORNING to all my friends and neighbors out there in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, I love you.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2, NASB


I used to wonder “Why did Jesus use those parables all the time? Why not just say things plainly?” The disciples wondered that as well. 

In our super-modern brilliance, we believe we understand everything. Maybe so.
On Christmas morning, though, I’m not so sure that we are QUITE as smart as we we think.

Concealing a matter: is there any better camouflage than a baby, for a divine entry into the lives of people on Earth? 
And not a royal baby, either; a Nobody Special baby. A baby of questionable parentage: a young woman claims she is with child, but has never known a man. Her betrothed, a skilled craftsman, has a good heart. He doesn’t want to shame her publicly, but let her slip away quietly.  It takes an angelic vision to reveal God’s secret to him.

That’s a concealed matter!

You can leave it as a story of Baby Jesus in the manger, if you want to. 
But He conceals SO MUCH MORE truth, so we can gain glory by searching it out! 

The gospels are very reliable witness documents, and they’re available in our own languages. If you want to go deeper, it’s relatively easy to learn enough of the language of the New Testament, koine Greek, to gain some new insights.

Consider: the wise men were not COMPELLED to seek Him; they CHOSE to search out the matter. They found the glory of kings.
And so can we.

Peace be on your household.

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