Every year my church does a program called A Festival of Carols with choir, orchestra and drama. I always participate in the choir, but this year I had the opportunity to act in the drama. I hadn't done any acting since I was in high school so it was fun to get the opportunity to do this again. As an added bonus, I got to act with my husband and son, and my daughter and sister were in the choir. I even got to sing two duets with my husband. We've been singing together since before we even started dating (20 years ago) so it's something I absolutely love to have the chance to do.
The story was that my character, Melody, is excited to finally be able to have a Christmas with her husband employed so she can help others, buy gifts for the kids, etc. Unfortunately, she comes home to find that her husband has been let go. In anger, hurt, sadness and frustration, she storms off and gets in a sort of dream-like time warp thing that sends her back to Bethlehem.
She meets Mary's mother first who reminds her that everyone is on a journey and that we need to trust God. Then she meets an angel (a part of the M.O.T.H.H.s - Multitude of the Heavenly Hosts) who teaches her that, although God could incinerate all of humanity because of our fallen state, instead He opted to show us some love. Finally she meets a shepherd who takes her to the manger, but Melody is so caught up in her own problems that she completely turns her back on Jesus. The shepherd teaches her that God thinks he's "somethin'" and how precious it was that he got to see his Savior.
At this point, Melody has had enough and fully breaks down. She finds herself in a "limbo" state where she can see and hear both the past and present, but can't get to either one. She yells at God about why she's been put through all of this, being open in her pain and anger. Eventually, she realizes that she completely missed Jesus because she had been too wrapped up in her own issues. She tries to go back, but can't and ends up falling on her knees. She asks God to forgive her and thanks Him for His gift and His love. At this point, she is finally transported back home to find that the choir has come with gifts, food, and a lot of love.
While acting was a lot of fun, the thing I loved the most about this experience was seeing how it affected the people who came. I had so many people come up and tell me about how the story had spoken to them, some of them in tears. Some people were touched by the situation, because they've been in the same place. Others could relate to Melody shaking her fist at God and yelling at Him. Still others realized that they had often turned their back on Jesus figuratively when they were going through their own issues or had gotten caught up in the gifts, busyness, stress of the season and had left Jesus out of it.
There was one part that brought real tears to my eyes every night. It was when Melody realizes just how much God loves her and how little she deserves that love. Even writing it now, my eyes are tearing up. God's love isn't a romantic love, even though I am part of the bride of Christ. The love I'm talking about isn't even the paternal love He has for us, even though I can call Him Abba Father. I'm talking about the love that the God of the universe, the Almighty, sovereign, omnipotent, holy, King of kings can demonstrate for a weak, insignificant, sinful, human like me. It's that unconditional agape love - a love that I don't think humans can fully grasp. In the words of Harvey, the shepherd, "To think, God loves me. To think, He thinks I'm somethin'!" I don't know why God loves me, but I'm so thankful He does.
This Christmas I am so thankful for the love God showed us by sending His Son to earth. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Most preschoolers can recite that verse, but oh friend, it's so true! He LOVED us! He still does. It was love that prompted Him to sacrifice His Son, send Him to earth in human form, suffer and die. Why? So we can be reconciled to Him, forgiven from our sins and one day live with Him. It was worth the cost to Him because of His great love for us.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Spend some time this day thinking about the love that God showed when Jesus came to earth. He loves you and He thinks you're somethin'.
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