Worlds,
stars, atoms, galaxies,
Spoken
into being—
Unprecedented.
Roses,
bluebonnets, honeysuckle, ferns;
Holly
trees, and giant redwoods;
Kangaroos,
giraffes, grizzly bears, hummingbirds, and dachshunds;
Swordfish,
catfish, octopi, whales,
All
created with a “Let there be”—
Unprecedented.
The
first human shaped by God from dirt,
Life
breathed into that mudpie man by the Potter—
Unprecedented.
The
first rain filling the deepest ravines,
Overwhelming
the tallest mountain peaks,
A
lone family afloat in the quarantine deluge—
Unprecedented.
Abram
called from his homeland,
His
wife a nonagenarian first-time mom,
Their
promised son on the altar,
The
knife raised,
A
ram in the brambles offered in his stead—
Unprecedented.
God’s
chosen people delivered to Egypt from famine,
Then
delivered into slavery to Pharaoh,
Their
deliverer born in secret, raised in Pharaoh’s house,
Called
out of hiding in the wilderness
To
lead God’s people out of Egypt
With
ten devastating plagues—
Unprecedented.
40
years of trekking through the wilderness,
Led
and sheltered by the fire-cloud pillar of God’s glory—
Unprecedented.
City
walls collapsing with shout and trumpet
blast—
Unprecedented.
A
shepherd boy, the giant-slayer with the slingshot,
The
man after God’s own heart,
Receiving
kingdom and covenant—
Unprecedented.
A
gilded temple whose true splendor was the shekinah glory-fire of God
Descending
as the king prayed its dedication—
Unprecedented.
That
temple defiled by false sacrifices to false gods,
The
glory exchanged for worthless vanity—
Unprecedented.
A
nation chosen by God sent into exile for her sins,
Preserved
and protected even in captivity—
Unprecedented.
The
sulky spokesperson cast into the storm,
Into
the sea,
Into
the stomach of the great fish,
Outspat
upon a beach,
Given
a second chance
To
proclaim judgment and repentance to his people’s enemies—
Unprecedented.
Those
enemies submitting themselves,
Repenting
in sackcloth
From
the king to the stables—
Unprecedented.
Another
prophet sharing a safe sleepover with a pride of ravenous lions—
Unprecedented.
Three
faithful Hebrews thrown into a furnace so hot it killed their escort,
Four
men walking freely in the fire,
Three
emerging unsinged, without even a whiff of smoke on their robes—
Unprecedented.
That
wayward people brought back miraculously to the land of promise,
Rebuilding
financed by Nehemiah’s royal employer—
Unprecedented.
Promised
forerunner born to a priest and his barren wife,
Grey
hair, wrinkles, and prenatal vitamins—
Unprecedented.
Very
God of Very God, Light of Light,
Enshrouding
Himself in an embryo,
Implanted
in the darkness of a virgin’s womb,
Waiting
for nine months,
Submitting
Himself to the violent rigors of birth,
Submitting
Himself to the authority of sinful human parents,
Submitting
Himself to the unjust slander against his parents and the timing of His birth,
“The
carpenter’s Son” (wink, wink)—
Unprecedented.
The
God-Man living a perfect life,
Dying
the death we sinners deserve,
Submitting
Himself to pain and mockery again,
Rising
from the tomb on the third day for our justification—
Unprecedented.
Ten
dozen men and women
Praying
in an upper room
Setting
the world ablaze with good news
When
the Spirit of their Savior lit them with tongues of fire—
Unprecedented.
In
this unprecedented year,
So
full of unprecedented challenges and griefs,
Let
us cling to the comfort of the many times “unprecedented” has been
The
signature of God scrawled across the pages of history.
May
He work unprecedented glories from this unprecedented year.
Aslan
is on the move, friends.
Courage,
dear hearts!
~crlm,
12/14/20
