Yesterday, during my family’s Christmas Day celebration, I cornered my cousin, Emily’s husband. I won’t name him. I’m not sure if I should. But He is a soldier in the United States Army and just recently got home from deployment in Afghanistan. I’ve been so excited about talking to him since his return. My questions were endless. That sweet man patiently and graciously tolerated me. He answered each of my questions without going into too much detail. I so admired how he carefully choose his words. His stories were fascinating -I could have held him hostage all day!

But before we were interrupted, he told me that his platoon will deploy again next year. They will be placed in one of the most dangerous areas in the world. And he was having a hard time deciding about re-enlistment.

Personally, I didn’t understand why it was even a question.
Why would you want to leave the posh living of being at home?
Why would you want to leave your beautiful wife again?
Why in the world would you ever want to leave to go to one of the most dangerous and most horrible places on the planet?

His response surprised me. I’ll never forget it. “It’s what every warrior dreams of doing,” he replied.

Wow. I cannot imagine. Talk about the heroes among us. These soldiers quietly walk our streets. They blend in with the crowds at our shopping areas – yet they are far from common, ordinary people. They are our heroes. They sacrifice – so that we can live our “posh” lives. I don’t want to even imagine what our lives would be like were it not for men like Emily’s husband.

As hard as his response is for me to understand – I get it. He didn’t have to say another thing. This soldier was created by God to be a warrior. I thankful I am for him.

So how does this relate to the Christmas story?

As I sat in my quiet time this morning, contemplating the sacrifice Jesus made by coming to earth, I thought of yesterday’s conversation. There are many similarities – except Jesus’ deployment was much more extreme. Jesus left the “plushness” of heaven. Everyone loved, adored, and worshiped Him there. Jesus lived in a place that was:

• sin free
• disease free
• heartbreak free
• tear free
• bad economy free
• disappointment free
• bad weather free…

Talk about paradise; talk about riches; He had it all! Why would Jesus purposefully leave His “cushy” life in heaven to enter a world that is riddled with:

• sin
• disease and sickness
• corruption
• poverty
• rejection
• hopelessness and helplessness
• homelessness and starvation?

Because just as Emily’s husband is on rescue mission for our country- Jesus came on a rescue mission for you and for me.

God knew that we could never work our way to Him. No amount of good behavior, righteous or religious living; and no amount of earth loving conservation would ever be good enough for us to reach heaven. So He came to us! The King left His throne – and chose to sleep in a feeding trough in order to rescue you and me from our sins.

So it’s not just a baby in a manger. It’s God, Himself stepping out of heaven – into the body of a human -to become visible – to rescue us. His sacrifice opened heaven for any and all who places their faith in Him. How have you responded to Him?

It’s a personal response – not one made by our religion or our parents or by the church we attend. It’s a personal transaction between you and God.

And as far as it goes with those quiet heroes among us – let’s treat them as such. They are worthy of our respect and admiration.

Happy Winter Wonderland!