Crawling toward the Manger: Day 8

The beauty of the Incarnation is that God moves toward earth when all earth is moving away from him. He comes into a world that rejects him, and all for the purpose of saving it–of changing the direction of souls, that they may move toward him and not away from him.

Our natural, sinful instinct, as humans, is to move away from stress, responsibility, or conflict, and instead move toward the things that satisfy us in the moment. It’s our old vices selfishness and laziness. Sometimes it’s just easier to hide and weather the storm then emerge when the sun comes back out.

When things are crazy at my house (read: silly or disobedient children and impatient husband), I often cave to that most basic instinct and hide. I’ve hidden in the bathroom, the car, and the shed. When Nate and I argue and the pressure builds so much that I feel like vomiting out a string of harsh words, I retreat. I get out of the situation–with the hope he feels guilty for making me flee (yes, this is me at my sinliest).

We are a world on retreat, backing away from responsibilities or hard things and hoping they will go away or resolve themselves. We are hiding, stewing over the wrongs done to us, or maybe just sulking because we didn’t get our way.

The Incarnation shows us this is not the way to act. There is a better way, modeled to us in Jesus.

Christ moves into the messy sinfulness of this world. He advances upon the broken and hurting, holding out salvation in humble, incarnate hands.

Accept the gift. Take the grace. Hold it and derive strength from it. And the next time you feel like hiding . . . well, maybe you should. A few minutes away is an important coping mechanism. But hide with Jesus. Let him turn you around and push you toward others, helping you to face the trial, the frustration, or the issue (children) that is pushing you to run.