It wasn't a book they laid in the manger...

Before he spoke a word. Before the Sermon on the Mount. Before he changed water into wine. Before he walked on water. Before he healed the blind.

Before any of that...he was a baby. He was flesh and blood. He was a person.

Certainly all of the things he did later are important. Certainly he spoke of things we should understand. But it's not understanding that we are after. It's a person.

We talk about him. We read books about him. We want to know about him. We categorize the things he said. We systematize his teachings. We talk about the order of decrees and soteriology. In a way, we depersonalize him. We use our knowledge to avoid him.

Paul had spent a life categorizing, memorizing and hypothesizing. He would have none of depersonalizing. This is Christmas:

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death"

I'd like to thank some people

I'd like to thank the voice-over guy from the financial planning commercial I heard on the way to my hotel today. He asked a question that really made me think. Would I rather imagine myself in the future sipping cold drinks in a beach chair in some exotic locale or sipping cold drinks in a plastic lawn chair in my back yard. Thank you, sir. That is a fantastic question. Neither. If those are my only two choices, I'll just go off and die now. I imagine myself arm-in-arm with my family giving our lives away as a family. I imagine not having one extra red cent because it has all been used to improve lives and meet needs.

I'd like to thank Wall Street bankers and mortgage lenders and car makers for reminding me how thin the fabric of the "American Dream" is...you have helped me reinforce my belief that it's really all lies and self-deception. While I don't wish misery for anyone, short-term misery can often produce long-term solid growth if we are willing to look at ourselves critically.

So, yeah...thanks.