A New Perspective
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father
-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to
the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the
mountain of God.There the angel of the Lord appeared
to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw
that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange
sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God
called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy
ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God
of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was
afraid to look at God.
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my
people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because
of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about
their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them
from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them
up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a
land flowing with milk and honey…So now, go. I
am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the
Israelites out of Egypt.”
(Exodus 3:1-8, 10)
Have you ever experience a “burning bush” moment in your life–a time when something abstract became real to you in a life-changing way? When Moses set out to check on the sheep that day, he didn’t expect anything unusual to happen, but the day turned out to be anything but ordinary. As he walked out to meet his flock, Moses had no way of knowing that he would encounter the Living God–or that this encounter would change the course not only of his life but also of all the people of Israel. One day life was normal; the next the world as he knew it was turned upside down.
That’s exactly what happened on a starlit night in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stepped into our world and changed the relationship between God and humanity. In a manner of speaking, we had seen God in black and white, but then Jesus stepped onto the stage in living color. The birth of Jesus flipped the world upside down, forever changing what it meant for God to love and lead God’s people. And the change was unexpected, to say the least.
Jesus came quietly–not in power but in weakness; introduced from a manger, not a throne. The event of his birth was unexpected, as was the person of Jesus. We often associate leaders with forceful, charismatic power. We tend to respect leaders because they accomplish, deliver, fight for, and earn. Why, then, didn’t God send Jesus in that way, a way that we could easily understand? Why did Jesus come quietly and meekly–though full of power?
God sent Jesus to earth in a way that announced a new way of understanding the kingdom of God. His life, birth, and death challenge our assumptions and our perspective so that we can see as he sees and value what he values. He is a leader like no other, one who says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28); “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15b); “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
As we look upon the manger this Advent, may we see and experience the love and tenderness of the God we follow. May we love as God loves and value what God values. May we allow God to set fire to our ordinary expectations and give us extraordinary vision to see what God is doing in the world and how we are to participate.
Prayer Focus
Has God ever revealed himself to you in a way that completely surprised you? Was it a quiet event or did it come into your life with a bang? How did it change you? Talk with God about how he has used that experience in your life.
From Rob Renfroe and Ed Robb, The Wonder of Christmas: Devotions for the Season