Bullets for the Battle

Making the Old Story Come Alive

“To meet with God in the story is to be changed.”*

One of the greatest ways to fully appreciate Christmas is to “put” yourself into the story of the Nativity of our blessed Lord. To “put” ourselves in Christ is to see His Cup, His Cross and His Commission in every experience of life … be it the best or worst! Both joy and sorrow can be windows to enter the Presence of God! And when He is in the midst … when you are “touching” Him with your heart … filled with the current of a new way to go, a new truth that compels and the new life that is really life taking hold of you … then the victories and defeats of earth don’t matter, or perhaps they matter a little, but distantly! What matters in an all consuming and fulfilling way is that you have seen afresh “the glory (significance) of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 4:6). No wonder we call this “the Good News.” Finding more of the Messiah in His authentic, stunning wonder leaves you wanting only more of Him! Everything else becomes secondary or irrelevant. The “more” of anything else is quite useless unless the Savior wants you to have it and use it to exalt His magnificence! Our Lord is honored when we find the reality of His Promises to conquer our pain in a way that delivers us into His Presence. To “put” ourselves into the meaning of the manger “puts” clarity into everything else.

The Cup of Christ, the Cross of Christ and the Commission of Christ is the reality that every Cross Disciple should seek. Frankincense speaks of the cup.

Frankincense was the sweet fragrance of the Cup that the Son would be honored to drink in sadness for the sin of the world. This He would do in order for the Father to display His mercy, justice, love and forgiveness. Blessed are those who drink the Cup of Isaiah 53.

Myrrh is the bitter perfume that speaks of the agony of the Cross. It tells of the sacrifice that must be made … the blood that must be spilt … the lonely anguish to be endured. Blessed are those who hang on the Cross of Isaiah 53.

Gold is the sign of kingship, authority and honor. The richest possession one can have. This gift of Commission belongs to all those who have been chosen by the Father to be triune worshippers of His Son’s birth. They, of all the people of the earth, have more to say of significance than anyone else. They have seen the Lord of Glory! Blessed are those who have the Commission of Isaiah 53.

The Babe in the manger is God’s thunder to all those who “put” themselves there with Him … a “little one” in the hands of the Father. Their lives will be glorious to the degree they see the Christmas message of drinking His Cup, carrying His Cross and accepting His Commission. Christmas is when we begin to learn the meaning of Isaiah 53.

* Opening quote from Reading the Bible Wisely by Richard Briggs