God Broke The Rules
Posted by Martha & Greg Singleton , Thursday, December 20, 2007 2:12 PM
Every Christmas, I try to learn something new about the story of Jesus’ birth that will make it fresh and even more significant to me. That’s been a lot of years, for sure, but, without fail, I discover a new facet every time.
The measure of God’s love for us is a subject that seemingly has unending perspectives. This Christmas season, I realized something about that love that I never noticed before. God loves us so much that He broke the rules. I think within my concept of His holiness and goodness I had, until now, attributed some timidity to God’s personality that was really not there.
Now, before you label me some kind of heretic, you have to know that I understand completely that God can’t violate His character. He didn’t contradict who He was. It was our set of rules that he shattered when He sent His Son to earth.
Our rules stated that a virgin couldn’t conceive a child. It just didn’t happen like that. Our rules were that a King couldn’t be born in a stable. Our rules declared that once a Messiah did come to earth, He would surely be more forceful and demanding. Wouldn’t he take over and make things right immediately? Our rules would never allow the Son of God to die, especially on a torturous cross. But, if by some strange twist of fate, he did die, our rules pronounced that that was surely the end of it all.
But, God loves us too much to be contained by our trivial legalism. His ideas and plans are much deeper, much broader, much more brilliant that what we can fathom. So, he had to break through all our preconceived notions in order to rescue us from sin and from ourselves. Our rules are the things that contain Him, and prevent Him from doing what He wants in and through our lives.
In my Christmas reflections this year, I recalled attending a retreat at Mo Ranch in Hunt, Texas, over thirty years ago. One of the featured speakers was Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie, who, at the time, was pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California, and later served a number of years as Chaplain of the United States Senate. Dr. Ogilvie is a very distinguished individual with a resonant voice that, most certainly, must sound just like God’s. I have never forgotten one particular phrase that he spoke in that retreat session. He said, “If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could not fail, what would you set out to do for His Kingdom?”
Our words say one thing about God, but our rules might not bear that out. If I really understood and believed that God’s love for me was inexhaustible and that He stands behind that love with power that is immeasurable, how would I live my life differently?
In my search for something deeper and something more meaningful, that’s the challenge that God has placed before me this Christmas season. I want to begin acting like I really believe that God will not fail. I want to break the rules.
