How big, gracious, glorious is Jesus—the one who entered our world as a totally dependent, diaper-wearing baby? “By Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” Col. 1:16-17
Friends, before offering a prayer for our day, I want to share a quote from C.S. Lewis’ children’s book “The Last Battle”—one of my favorite things Lewis wrote. As characters in the story transition from this life (the Shadowlands) to the next (heaven), they invite us to ponder the staggering implications of Jesus’ birth in a fresh way. They come upon a Stable that seems to bear a striking resemblance to the original one in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Here’s how they describe their experience.
“It seems, then,” said Tirian, smiling himself, “that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places.” “Yes,” said the Lord Digory. “The inside is bigger than the outside.” “Yes,” said Queen Lucy. “In our world too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world.”
Yes! and Hallelujah!, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of our hearts to see what your Spirit alone can reveal to us. No matter how highly we already think of you, your splendor and glory have no ceiling or end. Jesus, no matter how deep we believe the ocean of your mercy and grace to be, it is unfathomably more bottomless. No matter how astonished we are at your incarnation and work on our behalf, we have just begun to apprehend the implications of your birth, life, death, and resurrection.
Jesus, before you return to finish making all things new in our world, stable-size our hearts. Expand our capacity for awe, worship, and gospel-astonishment. Also, “stable-ize” our hearts, for we are weak, wary, and weary of living in our broken world. As we fix our gaze on you, Jesus, fill our hearts with your beauty, goodness, and truth. Thank you for always calling us “further in” and “further up.” So Very Amen.