THE MESSIAH OF OUR MESS

(Photo courtesy of: Occupations in Bible Times)

Here’s a selection from chapter one of my Christmas devotional, The Perfect Gift:

Imagine you’re stopped at a construction site, and a laborer passes in front of your vehicle. He’s dressed in work clothes, covered in dirt and sweat. His face exhibits a day’s growth of beard, and his hair is messy from toiling for hours. He’s trudging to who-knows-where, hungry and exhausted from a hard day’s work.

Nothing unusual. But what if somehow, in some way, you discover this carpenter is actually God. God come down in the form of a man, a working-class craftsman. It doesn’t seem right. If God became a man, surely he would be decked out in a custom-made suit and luxury loafers or, even better, some heavenly attire we’ve never imagined. Certainly not a sweaty, dirty, exhausted carpenter. That wouldn’t make sense.

But that’s exactly what God chose to do. When God broke through into our world, he didn’t just stick his toe in; he dove in headfirst. Hebrews 2:17 says that Jesus chose to be “fully human in every way.” Why? Because God wants you to know that he knows how you feel. He became a mess, because our lives are messy. This is why we need a “Mess-iah.” He’s the Messiah of our mess.

The nativity story is immersed in messiness. For starters, consider the Messiah’s genealogy. In Matthew 1, four women are mentioned in his lineage—extremely rare in the ancient world. But even stranger, three of them were of disreputable character. Tamar conceived her child in an act of incest. Rahab was a prostitute, and Ruth was an idol-worshiping heathen. If I were writing the story, I’d try to keep these genealogical skeletons locked in the closet. But not God. He shines a spotlight on them. Why? He wants us to see that Jesus meets us in the middle of our mess.

Then there’s the mess of the Messiah’s conception. Who in their right mind believed the crazy story…

(To read more, purchase The Perfect Gift, published by Our Daily Bread. You can order here: https://a.co/d/7Ho1vqm or directly from Our Daily Bread Publishing.)

Ponder:

• In what ways can you appreciate Jesus—the Messiah of our mess—in your life?

• Think of a time when Jesus met you in the middle of your mess? What was the outcome?

Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Matthew 1:1–17.

 Jesus, I praise you for being the Messiah of our mess. Thank you for diving headfirst into every detail of our human experience.