Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-5
Today’s “Lights, Camera, Advent!” movie is A Christmas Story. Let’s watch this first clip…
[Clip #1: Ralphie looking in the storefront window at all the toys on display, including the Red Ryder BB gun.]
How many of us grown-ups don’t feel a pang of nostalgia when we see that? I do! We remember what it was like to long for that one perfect Christmas gift… If only Santa or our parents would give us that one great toy—then we’d be happy, satisfied, content.
Speaking of contentment, in my recent series on Philippians I talked about Paul’s words in chapter 4, verses 11 and 12:
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound… I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
In that sermon I focused on being content when things are not going our way—when we’re “brought low,” or facing “hunger” and “need.” If God is offering us a “secret” for being content in the midst of hardship, by all means we will all want to learn that secret!
But notice: Paul doesn’t say he’s learned contentment only in unfavorable circumstances; he says he’s learned it “in any and every circumstance”—even in circumstances of abundance and prosperity and success.
We may think, “Hold on a minute, Paul. Thanks a lot, but I don’t need to learn the secret of being content when life is good. I know how to handle success and prosperity just fine! Just give me more of it, and I’ll show you how content I can be!”
Yet Paul insists there is a secret to learn. Scripture says the same thing in many places.
Think of ancient Israel in Deuteronomy. As the people prepare to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, Moses warns them:
The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give your ancestors… with large cities you did not build; houses full of good things you did not produce; cisterns you did not dig; vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt…[1]
Or consider Proverbs 30:8–9: “Give me neither poverty nor riches… lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’”
Scripture knows how dangerous prosperity can be. When life is good, we start placing our faith in earthly treasures rather than the heavenly treasures God wants us to savor and depend on.
When that happens, we commit idolatry.
There’s nothing wrong with Ralphie wanting a Red Ryder BB gun. The temptation, however, is believing he needs that BB gun to be happy.
The truth is, if Ralphie—or any of us—can’t find our happiness in Christ alone, then we won’t find happiness at all… at least not a happiness that lasts.
In this next clip, Ralphie’s father is very proud to have won a “major award”… Let’s watch…
[Clip #2: The dad wins a “major award,” only to have it break and be ruined.]
Our Lord gives us permission to grieve when loved ones die. Jesus himself grieved when Lazarus died—remember the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.”[2] Death is so heartbreaking, in fact, that Jesus wept even while knowing he was about to raise Lazarus back to life. And in 1 Thessalonians, Paul tells believers to grieve for fellow believers who’ve died—only not as those “who have no hope.”[3]
Because Christ has conquered death, we now grieve as people who believe that, however heartbreaking the loss, we will see our loved ones again.
My point is: there is a good kind of grief—grief that comes from losing what truly matters.
But who can explain the grief of Ralphie’s father when he loses his “major award”? It seems silly to us. But before we get smug and judgmental, let’s be honest: we may not treasure a tacky lamp the way Ralphie’s father does, but we treasure other things way out of the proportion to their value. And when those treasures are lost or threatened in some way, we also get fearful, angry, or depressed.
Sometimes those treasures are tangible, of course… like money and possessions and relationships. Sometimes they’re emotional… For instance, I say with shame that two of my three kids are old enough to remember an incident from around 2006. We were watching a hard-fought football game between the heavily favored University of Georgia and my beloved alma mater, Georgia Tech. My Yellow Jackets were winning late, and I was thinking, “Yes! Finally! Bragging rights for an entire year! I can’t wait!”
Then Georgia scored a last-minute touchdown. And I was so angry in that moment… I was so angry… I kicked… the couch. Silly, foolish, and childish behavior—and my kids still tease me about it. I’m glad we can laugh about it now! But I was treasuring that potential win in a sinful sort of way.
Well, we all have our version of that couch-kicking moment, I’m sure. We latch onto earthly treasures and let them control our emotions. Jesus warns us about this in the Sermon on the Mount:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.[4]
Ralphie’s dad grieved his broken lamp; I grieved a lost football game. The real issue isn’t the the thing we grieve—the issue is what’s in our hearts.
Earthly treasures break, fade, rust, die, and disappoint. Heavenly treasures never do.
[Pause…]
For this next scene, you need to know that whenever Ralphie utters a bad word, his parents get very upset and punish him. Lifebuoy soap, remember? Profanity is a serious offense in his house—except, of course, when uttered by his father!
The other thing you need to know… Throughout the movie, Ralphie and his friends are being picked on by some neighborhood bullies—something to which I can completely relate.
Anyway, in this next scene, Ralphie has finally had enough of these bullies!
[Clip #3: Ralphie’s fight, his cursing, and the aftermath]
“I slowly began to realize I was not about to be destroyed. From then on things were different between me and my mother.”
What was different? From then on, Ralphie knew that compassion, mercy, and grace would win out over judgment and wrath. He knew that his mother was on his side—not against him, not waiting to punish him. He knew that nothing he did could separate him from her love. That bond of love was unbreakable. Even when he disappointed her, even when he disobeyed, even when he failed to love her in return, her love would remain steadfast.
Brothers and sisters, our heavenly Father loves us like that—only infinitely more.
Think about Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger son has squandered everything, threatened his family’s livelihood, and essentially wished his father dead. Now the son comes home starving—rehearsing a speech about becoming his father’s hired servant. He knows what he deserves; punishment seems certain. The best he dares hope for is mere survival.
But when he sees his father running toward him—filled with compassion, embracing him, restoring him—what must this son have thought?
“I slowly began to realize I was not about to be destroyed. From then on things were different between me and my father.”
And so it is with us. Our God refused to let sin separate us from him. He refused to let us get what we deserved. He refused to abandon us to judgment or hell. He loved us too much. And before the foundation of the world he knew the price he would pay to save us: God himself would come into the world through his Son Jesus Christ and die on a cross for us.
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”[5]
Because of that sacrifice—for those of us who believe—things are now different between us and God. There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. If we’ll only receive the free gift that God offers us through Christ, we can live every day knowing exactly what Ralphie knew: we are loved, we are safe, and grace—not judgment—will have the final word.
This next clip takes place early on Christmas morning…
[Clip #4: Ralphie gets the BB gun.]
Ralphie received his long-sought-after Red Ryder BB gun… But notice his father made him wait an extra long time for it!
Seems about right… Our heavenly Father also often makes us wait for the best things in life…
Before the prophet Isaiah wrote today’s scripture, for instance, in Isaiah chapter 40, he had been prophesying about events that would happen very soon: the southern kingdom of Israel, Judah, would soon be conquered by the Babylonians and most of its citizens taken into exile in Babylon. This was well-deserved punishment, Isaiah says, for Judah’s many sins—and its ongoing refusal to repent.
The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are pretty bleak!
But beginning with chapter 40, Isaiah turns a corner: Judah’s “warfare is ended,” he says. “Her iniquity is pardoned.” And in place of judgment, God has given grace upon grace—grace, in fact, that more than compensates for Judah’s punishment.
Like many prophecies in the Old Testament, today’s scripture has both a near-term fulfillment and a long-term. In the near term, the Jews in Babylon would be set free and allowed to return to their homeland. Which you can read about in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
But before that, they would still be in Exile for seventy years. That’s a long time of waiting. Of course the long-termfulfillment of today’s prophecy is much longer… It won’t begin take place until the birth of Christ… 700 years later.
Waiting is a key feature of God’s people in scripture… Faith itself involves waiting… For all practical purposes, faith often is waiting… Abraham and Sarah, for instance, waited twenty-five long years for the son God had promised them. Israel waited forty years in the wilderness before entering the land God swore to give them. Jacob waited 20 years between the time he fled his murderous brother Esau and safely returned home. Joseph waited over 20 years between the time he was sold into slavery in Egypt and was finally reunited with his father and brothers. David waited 15 years—through danger, exile, and injustice—before finally becoming king over Israel.
In the Christmas story, Elizabeth and Zechariah, in Luke chapter 1, waited into old age before God blessed them with their child, John the Baptist. Simeon and Anna waited their entire lives to see the Messiah, faithfully trusting that God would keep his word. Even Joseph and Mary had to wait… probably a couple of years… in Egypt… before they could safely return home.
Again and again, God’s people discover that God wants us to wait… But waiting is not wasted time—because in the waiting, God is shaping, strengthening, and preparing his people to receive his gifts with deeper faith and greater joy.
Now let’s watch what happens later on Christmas morning…
[Clip #5: Neighborhood dogs come into the house and eat the turkey dinner. The family goes out to eat at the Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.]
“Life is like that,” the narrator says. “Sometimes at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.”
Indeed they do!
This turkey incident was a minor disaster, to be sure, but I love the way Ralphie’s father responded. Turkey was his favorite part of Christmas, and when it was ruined, you could see the disappointment on his face.
But he did not “kick the proverbial couch.” Instead, after getting his frustration under control, he forced a smile and said, “Go upstairs. Get dressed. We’re going out to eat.”
That’s a good dad! He rose to the occasion.
If you’re a dad, a parent, or simply a human being, you know what that feels like. Life constantly calls us to rise to the occasion—to face adversity with calm, with resolve, and maybe even with grace.
So how are we doing at that? Honestly: are we “kicking the couch” in our own way?
Years ago, a psychology professor friend told me that most of the suffering in life doesn’t come from the disaster itself, but from how we respond to it. And in my experience, that’s true. But my friend, who wasn’t a believer, was only speaking from a secular point of view.
We have the solid foundation of God’s Word.
And Scripture tells us things like: “Rejoice always… give thanks in all things.”[6] It tells us that God has “hemmed us in, behind and before,” and that we are held securely in God’s hand.[7] It tells us that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.[8] It tells us that because God is for us, nothing—in the long run—can be against us.[9] It tells us that Christ’s grace is sufficient for anything and that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
If all that is true, then God has a plan for our lives—not only when our “joy is at its zenith,” but also when disaster strikes, whether large or small. And when it does, we can say, “This isn’t what I wanted or planned… That’s true… but I’m not in charge. I wonder what the Lord is up to? He must have something better for me than what I planned.”
Do we have the faith to say that? It may take a lifetime, but God will teach us to say that as we keep on trusting him.
Think about the clip we just saw: Ralphie’s family wanted turkey dinner at home, but look what they would have missed out on if those dogs hadn’t ruined their turkey dinner! They got something better than what they planned—a joyful memory that lasted a lifetime.
In my own experience, and in the lives of countless people I’ve ministered to over 21 years, life is like that: God has a way of taking bad things and transforming them into something good.
After all, if he can take the worst evil and injustice that ever happened in the world—the death of his Son Jesus—and transform it into the greatest good in the world—the salvation of all who believe in Christ—then he can also transform all the lesser evil and suffering that life sends our way.
All is not right with our fallen and sinful world… It never will be on this side of the Second Coming and New Creation… But in the meantime, we can be confident that—in the end—it will be. We have a resurrected Savior to prove it!
So in the meantime, we trust and hope…
[1] Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NLT
[2] John 11:35
[3] 1 Thessalonians 4:13
[4] Matthew 6:19-21 ESV
[5] Romans 5:8 ESV
[6] 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18
[7] Psalm 139:5, 10
[8] Romans 8:28
[9] Psalm 118:6; Romans 8:31