Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Advent 4: Salvation

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, NIV1984).


How can it be that
All the weight of all the promises
And government will rest
On the wee shoulders
Of this bairn
In a borrowed crib?


This wrinkled, ruddy infant--
Can He be the seed of the woman,
the serpent-slayer;
the seed of Abraham,
the nations' blessing;
the seed of the shepherd singer,
the forever ruler?

Behold the Lamb of God
In a feed trough,
The Shepherd of Israel
Adored by shepherds,
The Word "without whom nothing"
Made wordless flesh,
The light of our shadowlands
Bathed in starlight.

And for what? Why did very God forsake
The splendor of His majesty?
For grace,
For love,
For kindness,
For my salvation He appeared,
For the pardon of this traitor heart,
For the redemption of this rebel sinner.

For the joy of my rescue
The King of kings became a ragamuffin
That I might become royalty.

Son of God, Son of Mary,
Swaddled Savior,
Messiah in a manger,
Glorious grace-giver.
I believe;
Help my unbelief.


He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:11-12, ESV).




11 comments:

  1. Beautiful. Salvation~what Christmas is all about, really.

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  2. Oh Christina, this is so very beautiful. He became a ragamuffin that we might be royalty--WOW! The Gift above all others--for us! Amen!

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  3. told you it was a series of advent poems! :o) i like the way you wove together so many (old testament and new testament) themes in this one, and the "segue" between the last two lines of the poem and the verse cited after it. thanks, too, for the word "bairn" which was new to me...

    may you and all of yours be ever so blessed this Christmas!

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  4. Starting out it was really just one at a time, but once there were three I felt some obligation to work on a fourth, let the chips fall where they may. Glad you liked it and learned a new word in the process. :-)

    May the blessing return to you multiplied, kind sir. Grace to you in Jesus!

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  5. Amazing what was wrapped up in that small bundle of flesh born that night long ago. May he ever continually be in my flesh by His Holy Spirit! Looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

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  6. Amen! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Hazel. A blessed Christmas to you.

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  7. "For the joy of my rescue"... what love! "Swaddled Savior/Messiah in a Manger/Glorious grace-giver. This is so lovely, tinuviel. It's a perfect read for today, Christmas Eve.

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  8. I have so very much enjoyed your Advent poems--there's now a bit of itching in my soul to try my own hand at such a thing, perhaps next year? We shall see.

    As always, so many good lines to settle on but of course the one that stood out first--"for the joy of my rescue." Oh, what a long journey it's been (and some days still is) to understand that rescuing me was not a burden to my Jesus but a Joy. Yes, it cost Him dearly, but oh, He never hesitated for one second, and He did it, as you say, "for grace, for love...for the joy of my rescue." Thank you for these words today.

    And I pray you've celebrated well and fully this weekend, with a Joy that will carry you straight through the long months of winter.

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  9. You're welcome. The things you liked arose from Hebrews 12:1 and Titus 2-3, so they aren't mine. The references just aren't in the post (yet). It is beyond comprehension that the joy outweighs the burden in His eyes. It was a good celebration; thank you, and I pray the same Joy carries you.

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Thank you for sharing your day with me! Your presence here is a gift. *You* are a gift. Right now I am unable to reply to every comment, but please know I read and pray for each and every commenter. Grace and peace to you in Christ.