The Christmas ‘Yes’!

DAILY BYTE

When our elder daughter first started to speak, her very first word was ‘No.’ I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with the fact that I was sneaking a swig of her Liqui-Fruit straight out of the carton at the time. But whatever the reason, that was her first word. Which evidently is not that unusual. Linguistically, a ‘no’ is easier to pronounce than ‘yes’ and usually comes pretty early in a child’s vocabulary.

But I wonder if there’s more to that early ‘no’ than linguistics. I wonder if, at even an early age, there is something within us that leans toward saying, ‘No!’ Maybe it’s something we inherit, or perhaps it’s something we learn. But certainly, as we grow older and experience a little more of the world and its ways, so this word can easily become our first response to what life presents to us.

Jim Harnish writes, “Saying ‘no’ is a form of self-protection. It wards off the risk of commitment; it protects us from involvement; it shields us from intimate relationships. An unqualified ‘yes’ is a much harder sell. To say ‘yes’ is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.”

Saying no protects us from being taken for a ride. And it’s often appropriate in a world of scams and abuse. But when it’s our default response in life, we WILL end up missing out on much of the richness that life has to offer.

Which brings us to the whole point of today.

Christmas is God’s unqualified ‘Yes’ to the world. Christmas is God declaring that He will risk sharing life with us. That He is open to us. That He is passionately committed to being in relationship with us. Christmas is God taking the monumental risk of having His life bound up with ours.

Listen carefully to the vulnerable cry from the manger and you will know it’s true. Listen carefully to Joseph giving this child his name and you will hear an echo of God’s yes. YESu. ‘His name will be called YESu, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Today, may you hear God’s great ‘YES’ spoken over your life, and may you in turn say ‘Yes’ to God.

Happy Christmas!

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me, for always believing in me. Help me this Christmas to hear you saying ‘Yes’ to me again, and to let it echo in my own life as I seek to respond to you. Amen.

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Matthew 1 : 20-21

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.