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(Christmas thoughts when our Beagle was a Puppy) By Jim Hammond |
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If you were God, would you have come as a baby? Of all the ways that God could have come into this world, He came the same way you and I came into this world -- as a baby. He came into this world and became a human being (see John 1:1-2, then 1:14, Colossians 1:15-17; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6). Why did God come to earth as a baby? One reason is that nobody’s afraid of a baby. God sent Jesus Christ to save you, not to scare you. Many people are honestly afraid of God. They don’t even like to talk about God. They get nervous when you talk about Him. If God had come in thunder and lightning and clouds, it would have scared a lot of people to death. But nobody’s afraid of a baby. God wants you to know Him. The amazing thing is that God wants you to know Him. He went to extreme measures that we might get to know Him. But God had a communication problem, how was he going to help us know and understand Him without scaring us to death. God wanted to come in a way that we could understand. Maybe our recent experiences will help you understand what God did. We have a new addition in the Hammond household. Her name is Baylee. She is a Beagle puppy. I love that dog. When I get home, I am greeted by a bundle of wiggles. She has a way of wiggling every muscle of her tiny body to say, "I’m so excited, I’m so excited, you’re home, you’re home." If when I come home and she is in the garage, I open the garage door with the automatic garage door opener in my car, then I open my driver door and she comes wiggling to my door to be picked up and held as I drive into the garage. This is the routine we’ve come up with together. I love that dog. Sometimes however, I hate that dog! Baylee is nearly four months old now and though she has learned many things, she’s just not getting something. She does know how to stay in the kitchen on the tile floor until given her release word "Bingo" as permission to step on the carpet into other areas of the house. It is a good thing too, because the one thing she still hasn’t learned consistently is that she is not supposed to leak water in the house! Baylee is not completely house broken. I’ve had 3 other dogs in my adult life that I’ve trained. None of them has been as dense as Baylee when it comes to this issue. I wish I could get her to understand! Sometimes I wish I could be a dog for a day, talk dog talk and say, "Baylee, not here". You must go potty outside, and show her so that she can get it right! Only A Savior Makes Us Acceptable To God And that is just what God has done. "Behold unto you is born this day, a Savior." Baylee needs a savior. But really, Baylee needs a savior less than we did. We need a savior. We just weren’t getting it. And God is not going to live with us messing in his house. In heaven no messes are allowed. I’ve messed and you’ve messed and only if we will get it and no longer mess will we be able to live in God’s house forever. God did the amazing thing and became a man to communicate who he is and what he requires of us.
I guess here is where the analogy of Baylee breaks down because God does more than just tell us the boundaries (He did that in the Old Testament). He fulfilled the requirements for us when he came. He made a way for us to be acceptable in God’s House by his power. He made us acceptable. And when we do go to be with Him in His house we will be perfect as He is perfect. At my home as far as Baylee is concerned we are still living in the Old Testament age waiting for Baylee to get it. The boundaries have to be strictly enforced and she doesn’t have much freedom. But you better not be still waiting. The savior has already come. The greatest gift has been given. We can have it. We can live with God. God wants us to live with Him and be with Him all the time. And He has done everything already so that we can live with Him happily. And that’s something to wiggle about. |
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