Mark Sorensen I recently came across a letter written by Francis Xavier, a mid 16th century missionary, who wrote to a priest on his perils of his mission to China. In it, he wrote the following:
“The danger of all dangers would be to lose trust and confidence in the mercy of God… to distrust Him would be a far more terrible thing than any physical evil which all the enemies of God put together could inflict on us, for without God’s permission, neither the devils nor their human ministers could hinder us in the slightest degree.”
Reading this was a powerful reminder for me this week. To receive Advent is to sit with the wonder and awe of God with us in Immanuel, Jesus, Christ. It’s to be reminded that God has not given up on humanity, nor will God ever give up on humanity as Jesus came as an atonement for our sins. But, as we see this gift before us this season, take note of the tag. See it? It’s right underneath the bow. Flip it over. It’s on the other side of your name. On it is the word, “Danger.”
Danger is always present. It rears its ugly head often and it’s found all over the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph were scared. The shepherds were terrified by the angels illuminating the dark skies on that cold winter’s night. But, here’s the fine print. We mustn’t let the circumstances, the unknowns, or the events of our day to day happenings diminish and minimize the power of God’s mercy and presence in our lives and we mustn’t live small, safe lives out of fear. We must keep our head up in the valley and our eyes on the One who never takes His eyes off of us.
“I look up at the vast size of the mountains—from where will my help come in times of trouble? The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains will send the help I need. He holds you firmly in place. He will not let you fall. He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep.” -Psalm 121:1-3 (VOICE)
Take heart. The Lord is near, friends.
