It’s easy to forget the Christ of God in Christmas season or at least to put him to one side while we busy ourselves with meals, guests, decorations and presents. There is lots of driving, going to the grocery store, relatives homes and church. School programs and church programs abound. Then there are the naysayers. Bah humbug! A curse on all this commercialism! This is not what God had in mind! So says the critic! However, perhaps the greatest sin we commit is to pass by so many people that we hardly notice at all. We fail to see all those people that Jesus came to save while we busy our minds and mouths both for and against the Spirit of Christmas. So who is the Christ of Christmas?
“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2
That short scripture is the subject of this article. If you passed by Jesus, would you know who He was? Could you tell by what He wore? Would you know Him by His hair? My belief is that Christians have an image in their minds of the way He should look. It’s probably wrong. The scripture says there is nothing that we would see that we would desire. You could pass by him and he would be unnoticed. My personal belief is that his is the most average of all men. Average height, weight and looks. I don’t believe He stood out like perhaps a man of great worldly power would standout. Worldly power attracts the attention of everyone. That is the subject of all profane history. Position, eloquence, wealth or perhaps military conquest are what so many history books are filled with. In the case of Jesus there is nothing the world would want from Him.
Jesus offered no wealth or power to HIs followers. In fact He offered them persecution, imprisonment and confrontation. Who would follow that? Only those who wanted the words of life would follow. Only those who felt His love and holiness would follow. Many of those people gave their lives when they were faced with the ultimate sacrifice.
After Jesus began to minister at the age of thirty He owned nothing other than the closes on His back. It even gives the impression that he wore the same clothes for nearly three to four years. Did Mary and Martha launder his clothes? Its hard to say. They may have done that when Jesus stayed in their home. He did have a sufficient under garment if he followed the customs of the day, which I’m sure he did. There are so many missing pieces to His life. Maybe that is because they didn’t even exist. Maybe there are only few details of a worldly nature to share other than what we read in the New Testament.
So if you saw Him on the street would you know Him?
So if you saw Him on the street would you know Him? Would you turn away from Him because you would think, “here comes a man of the street, unwashed with a spot on his garment from some meal of some other day.” He may have had a little soil around the edges of His garments. Remember He was often found sitting and talking. Was the surface where He sat always clean and dirt free? What would we see if we could have seen Jesus then?
The average height of men around the world through history has been between 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches. What has the average man looked like through the millenia? Nothing truly handsome would be noticed in the average man. I think Jesus was the quintessential average man. Today the average man can be seen everywhere and not noticed. He could work on a house as a carpenter. He could drive a truck. He could be on a bus sitting next to you. He could be in the car beside you on the road, standing on a street waiting for the crosswalk light to change, dinning at a restaurant with friends or any number of other places. Yet from Him came the words of everlasting life and the blood that washes mortals clean from their sins. Other than that there is nothing we would want from Him if we passed near Him.
So now we come to each one of us. Can you be just an average person and content with what God has made you? Can you work in life unnoticed or forgotten? Can you live with the fact that you are nothing really special in the eyes of the world? Our place in the world is to be average in every way except spiritually. It is true that others were very much noticed by the world for worldly things. There were people noticed for great worldly things who were God’s servants. However today let Jesus have all the glory and ourselves be unnoticed for worldly things. Then how do we serve God without being noticed for worldly fame, position or power?
First we can give to all around us an example of our noble born again status. We can be a blessing wherever we go by not passing by all those average people without seeing them. We can be royal in trustworthiness, helpfulness and Godly love. We can mourn with those that mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. We can truly be present wherever we are placed. We can participate in every moment living a life for the Christ of Christmas.
There are people with average lives and problems on all sides
There are people with average lives and problems on all sides. They have friends and families, fears and sins. You and I have the words of life. We have the pathway to the tree of life and God’s love. We have the greatest gift above all gifts. We have His Spirit with us. We have the true Spirit of Christmas. We have the Christ of Christmas to share with our families, our friends, strangers and our enemies. Let’s be humble enough to share the Christ of Christmas. Lets be squarely in the middle of all humanity and reachable. Let the world touch you when they need Jesus. Let the world see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.
Don’t be known for crossly spoken criticisms even though there are times when the truth must be known. All facts are not the truth, Jesus is the ultimate truth. Represent Him this Christmas season. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-3
A J Moser
