A blinding light pierces the silent night. Then a host of heavenly beings manifest out of thin air to declare the arrival of the long promised King. To…shepherds. An angelic annunciation, declaring God’s favour and delight, choosing the mother of His Chosen One. To…a teenage girl, from a despised town, now destined for hardship and slander. The arrival of this promised King, the One destined to restore a nation, liberate the captives, bind up the brokenhearted and unite all of creation back to perfect union with the source of all life. Born in…a barn, because there was no room made for Him, laid down in the animal’s feeding trough, while His destitute first-time parents confusedly tried their best.

If God is truly sovereign and the author of this story, you have to ask; why did He do it this way? To intentionally break every convention and expectation. To fly in the face of reason, to the very point of reckless abandon. A scandalous birth, to an ill-equipped mother, declared to the no-name working class. Did God not care? Was He half-heartedly showing up? Is He out of His mind?

The foolishness of God is greater than the heights of human wisdom. In fact, those we deem as worthy and wise are those most at risk of missing this King’s arrival. A self-obsessed king wanted to murder Him. The religious and academic elite wanted to silence Him. The tyrannical ruling power wanted to subjugate Him. They thought they did not need Him, and so they despised Him. But the poor, the needy, the humble, clung to Him. He came as one of them to reach them. He revealed Himself to them because He loves to elevate the low and draw in the rejected. He delights in the humble because they delight in Him. He sees the longing heart, He hears the desperate cries, and He chooses to show up - right outside their doorstep.

Now, He wants to pierce our darkened hearts with His glorious light. He wants to declare His loving favour and delight to us. He is knocking on the door of our hearts, hoping we would let Him in. No matter how modest; stables, mangers and all. He wants to arrive and dwell, with…you.