REFLECTING

            I am always reflective on this day of the year. This is the day, back in 1941, that the Japanese Imperial Navy made a surprise attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was that act that plunged the United States into WWII. Even though we could see the warning signs on the horizon, we were unprepared when the attack came. That one event changed the course of our history.

            Over 2000 years ago another invasion took place. It had been predicted and looked forward to, but when it came, most people were unprepared. It too changed the world. That invasion came in an insignificant place called Bethlehem.

            For hundreds of years, the people of Israel looked forward to the day when the Messiah would come. In fact, they longed for that day. They expected him to come like the Japanese came to Pearl Harbor, with guns blazing. They expected a warrior king who would defeat their enemies and restore the glory of Israel. So when Jesus entered the world, they had their eyes focused on the wrong place.

            Jesus slipped into our world almost unnoticed. If it had not been for the announcement to the shepherds by the angel, there would have been no one to celebrate Jesus’ birth. It had not been for some watchful magi in a far off country, there would have been no gifts for this newborn king. The people who should have celebrated this amazing event let it pass unnoticed.

            John tells us that Jesus’ birth was a quiet invasion that hardly made a stir, at least at first. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:10-11 (NIV)

            After the Pearl Harbor attack, America mobilized. It became one of the most powerful nations in history. But it took an extraordinary event to lift us out of our isolationism and lethargy.

            Even though Jesus’ entrance into the world was quiet, and almost unnoticed, he lit a flame that set the whole world ablaze. John tells us that Jesus’ impact was enormous. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. John 1:12-13 (NIV)

            Jesus began a movement of faith that transformed the world. Today, time itself is marked from the birth of Jesus. Every western calendar hanging on a wall or flashing on a computer screen is a silent witness to the impact of Jesus. Jesus set a revolution into motion that continues to spread today. Millions of people around the world have received Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. Because of this one man, the moral standards of the world have been revised and upgraded. Because of this one man, compassion has become a universal virtue. Because of this one man, women and children are now valued on par with men. But most important of all is that, because of this one man, a bridge has been built between earth and heaven. All who put their faith in Jesus can cross that bridge and enjoy His presence for all of eternity.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)

            Today is a day to reflect upon the results of being unprepared and unaware. Today is a day to reflect upon the potential that can be released when people are awakened to a need. Today is a day to reflect upon the one event that truly changes everything.

Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.