Invasion

My family has the most extraordinary mealtimes. No, really! In spite of my mother's excellent cooking, though, I'm speaking of the conversations. The topics can move anywhere from airsoft/paintball, to politics, to movies, to religion/theology, to stuff that blows up, to the schedule for next week, to a pun... you get the drift. Needless to say, the conversations around TeamMat's table definitely give rise to some new thought patterns. New neural synapses firing at different times than they might normally. And so I give you: Christmas.

What the heck? Already? I know, I know... It's only the tenth, right? But this thought struck me in such a way I thought I'd share it with you.

When the Messiah was born, he didn't just put on human-ness over his godhood like one does an overcoat on a windy day. It's essential to understand this: Jesus, the Christ, was God *and* man, both, together, 100% of each, in the same package. Kind of tough to get your mind around, eh? Don't give up! You see, becuase the Christ was all man, He was tempted with sin. Tempted in some ways as we will never be tempted ourselves. (When was the last time somebody offered you the world?) But because He was all God, He was able to resist the temptation perfectly and never fall. And this is as far as some people go, but take it a step further. Jesus' humanity is the only reason His death on the cross wasn't meaningless. If He had been all God, woopidedoo; the sins of *humanity* demanded a *human* sacrifice. But Christ was human, which meant He was eligible for the role. But take a step back for second.

When Jesus was born on this earth in some cave-stable in Bethlehem, it was a straight-up invasion. Oh sure, God had come to earth before, but never to stay, and never as a human! The evil duke who lays claim to the world (Satan) got a slap in the face that night so many years ago. And this is the important part: since Satan *still* lays claim to this world, that makes those who follow Christ... the Resistance! And there will be crackdowns. There already are in other parts of the world; pray for those churches! The crackdown is coming to America as well; but it will be a far more subtle and insidious crackdown. It's already begun, as a matter of fact. Persecution of a Biblical Worldview in the "marketplace of ideas" is not only the norm, it's expected. And if you grant a Biblical Worldview the time of day, you're working with them. Which of course gives us few allies.

But hang in there! Just as Satan's cheers turned into wails and teeth-gnashing when Christ was raised from the dead, so it will be when he thinks he's beat us into the dust, only to have our Heavenly Father return and, quite frankly, own his face.

You *don't* want to mess wit' my Daddy.

(Viva la reformation!)