Come In

The tears roll down my face, as the Christmas lights flicker in the background. The gifts wait under the tree, ready to be unwrapped. But the most important gift – the gift I need more than anything – he waits outside of all the glitter and the hurry for me. He waits in the quiet.

Can I come in?

I hear it like a knock on the door.

Can you let my love in? My peace in? My joy in? My hope in?

I read it this week in Ann Voskamp’s devotional – and the words echo, echo.

“We can always have as much of Jesus as we want.”

That’s just it. It’s always our choice. How much do we want of Jesus?

To be honest, I let myself stand in the way of God’s presence so many days. I let my anxious thoughts and worries, and I let my attempts to control, dim the voice of the Prince of Peace. We do that – right? We grasp and fight and try to make our own joy. We try and protect our joy and our hearts – without realizing that we are smothering the very gift that God wants to give us freely. Ann Voskamp also writes, in 1000 Gifts,

“It’s our wild desire to protect our joy at all costs – that smothers out our joy. Like a flame needs oxygen, joy needs an open hand.”

And as we sit by the flames of advent candles, or Christmas candles, we can see it – the oxygen makes the flame brighter. Openness makes receiving joy possible. And creating space makes receiving peace possible.

In this open space, we can lay down every question in our hearts, every hurt, every worry – before the tree. The tree that later becomes the cross.

Because we have a Savior.

Jesus came as a little baby for us – so vulnerable, tender. He shows us by leaving heaven that He will stop at nothing to reach us – in the places we are the most vulnerable and tender. In the places we are the most broken. In the places we have the most questions.

He comes. As someone that we can hold.

He is a Savior who doesn’t care so much about the answers, as He cares about our hearts. About being with us. About saving us from ourselves.

This is the good news – this is always the good news! He comes for us. He comes to us. And by His Spirit He comes into us. And He’ll never leave us alone.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
– John 14:18

The question that remains for us tomorrow – is will we come back to Him? Can we sit with open hands to receive the greatest gift, not in the rush and the hurry, but in the whisper?

Below all the noise, the presents, the people – the things we surround ourselves with or distract ourselves with – He whispers.

Come, my sweet child.

We can adore Him and love from the depths of our fragile human hearts. I heard it in a song today by Francesca Batistelli, as the cry of Mary’s heart as she let Jesus inside of her. May this be our cry, as His daughters and the apple of His eye,

“I am not brave
I’ll never be
The only thing my heart can offer is a vacancy
I’m just a girl
Nothing more
But I am willing, I am Yours…
Be born in me.”

It’s not our accomplishments He wants, the things we put together and wrap pretty. It’s always the vacancy of our hearts that God wants – the empty. Let’s come to Him with our empty and see – how He doesn’t just fill the empty with Him – He fills it to overflow.

We can overflow peace and overflow love and overflow joy and overflow hope – not because the world is right our our world is right – but because that’s who our Jesus is.

He is our Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
He is love. (1 John 4:8)
He came that we might have joy, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
And He given us a living hope. (1 Peter 1:3)

We can trust this God. We can hold this God.

Tomorrow, this is the baby Jesus that we can hold close. The baby Jesus that we can let in. The baby Jesus that we can let save us and birth something new in our hearts.

We can whisper gently, below the Christmas songs, and away from the lights and the tree and the gifts and the people:

Come in, Jesus. Come in.

 

“For a child has been born – for us!
The gift of a son – for us!
He’ll take over the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness He brings.”

-Isaiah 9:6 (MSG)

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

– Luke 2:10-11 (NKJV)