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Royal Births ELODIE BALLANTINE EMIG, MA INSTRUCTOR OF GREEK A s believers, we accept that God's ways are not ours and, moreover, that they are higher than ours. I suspect, though, that we often misconstrue "higher." Compare Jesus' birth in Bethlehem to that of Prince George's in London this summer. Jesus was born in a stable and later celebrated by a few shepherds; George was born at a hospital named for Jesus' mother, and later celebrated by cheering crowds and the usual media frenzy. Jesus grew to be a man of sorrows with no place to lay His head— even though He was King of the Jews. George, a probable future king of Great Britain, will undoubtedly know sorrow, but it will be buffered by great wealth and royal privilege. I have nothing against the House of Windsor, but I think we could learn something about royalty from God. God, the Sovereign of the universe, could have chosen a "higher" birth for His son. One could make the case that coming as the incarnate emperor of Rome would have been a sufficiently unfathomable condescension for a truly divine being, but God was determined to become a commoner. God chose Israel from among larger nations, Judah from the twelve tribes, and tiny Bethlehem from Judah as integral parts of His plan to invade and ultimately redeem His creation (Mic. 5:2). "AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS, AND MY THOUGHTS HIGHER THAN YOUR THOUGHTS." (ISAIAH 55:9) This doesn't mean that God minimizes His sovereignty or the royal honor and glory due Him. Rather, I think it means that for millennia, God has been trying to get us to reevaluate our values and priorities. Jesus "did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45). He demonstrated his royalty in His willingness to die for His subjects, even those who did not recognize His dominion. His kingship was validated by His extravagant self-sacrifice. 07 Christmas offers us opportunities to contemplate some of God's royal decisions. When tempted to embrace the manic busyness of the season, let's imitate Jesus, who often withdrew to quiet places to be alone with His Father. And thus renewed, when we feel pressured into making Christmas bigger and better materially, let's opt for freely offering what we can of ourselves instead. DECEMBER 12 DENVER SEMINARY CHRISTMAS 2013