Introductory Note
As we take a bit of a break from daily website posts to spend the holidays with our families, we are glad to leave you with this charming and profound insight from our board chair, Jon Bailey. We hope it blesses your celebration of the Birth.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you on January 2!
P.S. Did you know you can receive micro-essays from Jon right into your in-box on Sundays? Visit his site and learn more.
The Renovaré Team
On Christmas, God’s eternal life slipped into our world practically unnoticed and set in motion the great concealment of the ages. For three decades, God grew — unhurried and unnoticed. Patiently waiting to unveil His life to the world. Has the humility of His hiddenness registered? Has it tunneled through all our cranial cement and lodged itself right in the center of our hearts? Can we picture it? Can we even imagine it? It’s like Tolkien becoming the hobbit or Lewis becoming the lion. The author writes himself into the story. No, it’s more than that. The Creator becomes the creation. Have we let these thoughts move us? Have we let them knock us to the ground? Are we paying attention? If the Christ-life took decades to develop in our God, then perhaps we can rest as easy as He did. Perhaps we can live unhurried lives. Perhaps we can live content with our unnoticed-ness, our hiddenness, growing in grace, growing in God.
Painting "Holy Family with a Bird" is by Bartolomé Eseban Murillo and is in the public doman via Wikimedia Commons.
Jonathan R. Bailey
Jonathan R. Bailey is the co-founder of Dwell, an audio Bible app helping people rediscover the ancient practice of listening to scripture. He is the author of Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation, a forthcoming book with IVP. He writes Three Weekly Lights, a Substack newsletter that helps readers participate more deeply in their transformation. He also serves on the Board and Ministry Team at Renovaré. Jonathan lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Kori, and their three children.
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