Christmas Time Reflections

Language Ministries: Georges Boujakly
Wednesday, December 1, 2004

Permit me to be reflective and introspective at this wonder-filled time of the year.

The events that took place 2000 years ago and we celebrate as Christmas bring out the personal side of me that I wish to share with you.

There is much mystery to our faith as followers of Christ. All the events surrounding the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Christ, contain a mystery that is beyond complete understanding. The historical events are well established and the facts behind the mysteries are unquestionable and beyond the slightest doubt. Yet the mysteries remain. Holy Spirit pregnancy, dying to atone for the sins of the world, coming back to life in a transformed body, ascending to heaven on a cloud. I cannot fathom it all. Yet I accept the mysteries by faith and relish them without being able to penetrate them. I never will penetrate them until He calls me home and then maybe not fully.

The Christ-child who came to earth came to us enfleshed or embodied. Incarnation is the theological word the theologians of old gave to the idea of God embodied in Christ. "Jesus pitched his tent" cross-culturally. He was used to the culture of heaven. He was used to the culture of complete and ultimate intimacy. He was used to be fully loved and to love fully. He was used to being of the same essence as his Father and the Holy Spirit. Yet he left his culture and took on ours so that he would be able to change it. This is the ultimate incarnational strategy for changing the world. In imitating of Christ our modus operandi for changing the world could wonderfully be ours also.

The world has come to our doorsteps. In the zip codes of HOKSBA and the rest of our convention areas where our privilege is to make disciples of Christ. The world has pitched its tents among us. The people groups that reside in our sphere of influence are increasing. Some of those require more cultural bridging than others. Some bridges are language, or ways of celebrating Christmas, or ways of seeing life. One of the gifts I am going to make to Jesus, the ultimate immigrant from heaven this Christmas is to better understand a people group that I have not taken the time to understand yet. My purpose of making the effort is simply to know and be able to reach out to them in person (just as Jesus did to me and to you) and speak the truth of incarnationally into their lives.

Would you consider giving the Christ child such a gift this year in your own life context?

Here's how you may begin:

  • Choose a people group.
  • Get to know them through written words in your local library or on the internet.
  • Find out if some of them live in your county, city or neighborhood.
  • Find out if anyone is reaching out to them.
  • If not, pray about being Jesus' love to them in person.
  • Pray for them.
  • Break bread with them if the opportunity is provided you by God.
  • Continue the relationship until Christ attracts them to himself through you.
  • Walk them through your faith until they become mature.
  • Watch God do great things and praise Him for it.