A new year, a new opportunity. Of course, every second of every day is a new chance. Yes! A chance for what, you say? A chance to be all in. To be all in with what you say? All in with Jesus. Will you be all in this year with Jesus?
Will you take your place in the nativity? Will you walk into the stall? Move right in. Pull up some straw and have a seat. You know you’re part of it, right? You know you’ve been invited, right? The other option is to peek into the nativity, note how cute He is, ooh and ahh over Him, maybe drop off a gift – in the plate or of your time — and just walk away, just get on with our lives.
Isn’t that what we do when we’re not all in, when we dabble? When we’re not completely committed? We peek in on Him. We take a glance and then avert our eyes. We see that hanging out, taking our place beside the manger in the nativity, accepting the birth to rebirth, may require something of us – change — and we just move on. We check Him out but we’re not serious about Him. We speak of Him, but are not committed to Him. Oh, occasionally we go back to the nativity to peek in and see if He’s still there (especially when we need Him or especially when it would look good), and then back to the world. When will He become our world? You wonder that too? I have very few answers, but I got this one. He will become our world when we become serious about Him. When we stop dabbling and move into the nativity.
How do we know if we’re living in the nativity, how do we know if we’re serious about Him? Our lives will speak it! If our lives have been changed by our commitment to Him, we are living in the nativity. If our lives have not changed, we are not living in the nativity. Simple as that. Our lives must be changed in order to live with Jesus. What do you mean, you say? The Word of God says we must be changed. Well, give me the list of rules and I’ll follow them. Show me the dos and don’ts. Follow the Commandments, 1-10 – I can check those babies off. That’s not at all how it works.
It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God. Galatians 6:15-16
Do our lives look different before we entered the nativity and now? Have we shaken off the old ways? Do we still talk the same, act the same, have the same attitudes, work the same? Do we still hold onto grudges, anger, fear? Do we still think the same? Only of ourselves – our wants, our desires? If we do, we’re only dabbling in Jesus. We dabble in church — Easter and Christmas? We dabble in prayer – only when we need something? We dabble in the Word – making it say what we want it to say. We dabble in our relationship with Jesus – on again/off again. Dabbling is dangerous. Why so? Because it’s superficial. We think we’re living in the nativity and we’re not. We think a little bit of Jesus will do us. We think we can have Jesus without changing. It’s just not possible.
I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
It doesn’t mean we just do things differently or that we stop or start new behaviors. It means we become new people. It means we live differently. Make no mistake, change can be a drawn out, laborious process, but a process nonetheless. Remember, a process is a series of actions or steps taken to get to an end. But look at the promise.
And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6
He began the good work. He will finish it. He will return. He keeps His promises. Are we done with dabbling? Are we done with the superficial? Are we serious? Are we all in?
There’s a spot in the nativity, right beside the Baby Jesus. Are we changed by this Baby?