Joy to the world
Filly sat at the copper topped round kitchen table and took a sip of her sweetened coffee from the blue, green and white decorated squatty “Beauty and the Beast” type mug. It was 8 am. and she had done her ten thousand steps. She took a bite of the orange pumpkin bread, slathered with butter, warm from the microwave, that was leftover from the loaf her sister had sent her for her birthday. It was a perfect accompaniment.
A chunk of the pumpkin bread fell on the recently mopped floor and Filly hopped off her chair and scooped it up…two second rule.. she popped it in her mouth. No waste of this delicious treat. Her sister would be amazed at how well the pumpkin bread had lasted in the plastic “Glad press and seal” wrap.
“Glad” was a great product name Filly thought. Several days earlier, when the election was finalized she had felt very glad, even great joy. It was mirrored by the radio Holiday traditions channel she was listening to. It was playing “it came upon a midnight clear”
It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,
From heaven’s all-gracious King.”
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.
Filly had been asleep on election night and had refused to look at mainstream media which she did not believe. Her daughter in Tomball was looking at Rumble, with Steven Crowder and her son in Tennessee was looking just at statistics. But Filly was sleeping and when her phone dinged it was her son was sending her news that North Carolina had “gone for Trump”. Then her other son had called, asking if she was awake. It was about midnight and “the angels were indeed bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold”. Filly felt breathlessly inspired.
God was still in charge. In spite of the “babel sounds” like in the song. Filly learned that the tower of Babel was a tower that the people were building.
“Genesis 11:4 records, “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”
Let’s first focus on the phrase “so that we may make a name for ourselves.” They wanted everyone to know how great they were. Their pride and arrogance had gotten out of hand.
This is where many explanations of the sin of Babel stop, but this misses a deeper and more fundamental arrogance in the face of God.
God specifically told Noah and his descendants to spread out and “fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). Beyond trying to be better than everyone else, the people of Babel were disobeying God’s command. God told them to disperse, and they built the city for the express purpose of not being “scattered over the face of the earth” (Genesis 11:4).”
Filly believed that the global “one world government” which was being funded by billionaires in the EU were a current day representation of the tower of Babel that God was scattering. And his people, who were praying and trusting his voice, were seeing the results of the angels bending near the earth, as the candidate that did not want to censor the people, and wanted hundreds of voices instead of one world government voice, had prevailed.
It was like Christmas had come early and the gift of an enduring republic was being carefully unwrapped with great joy by all Christians. On a personal level, Filly thought of the the individual gifts of new life, in the form of the children in her world.
As a parent of five children, Filly had, over the years, recognized the incredible value of the precious gifts of life, and the blessings she was able to see and appreciate that accompanied each these gifts in each of her children. As each unique and precious child grew and flourished, Filly opened more layers of their gifts, recognizing in some the talent to run and play baseball and soccer, the ability to do incredible art, music, dance and communication in another, and the ability to do complex computer and math tasks in another.
In each package that came in the form of a child, lay hidden talents and attributes that were just waiting to be unwrapped and discovered and valued. When the parent was able to love “the present”, the “present” rewarded that love by returning it ten fold.
The bible says
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us.”
Filly thought of the children in her life and how they loved her because she first loved them as modeled by the heavenly father. Children, in their innocence and trust can recognize Love, even when in a barren environment. The love of the “father” or parent, is foundational for children to have the ability to love. And Filly believed that the gift of a child, with all the layers of possibilities inherent in that gift, made loving that “gift” of a child, easy for any parent to do.
Parenting was as simple as expressing love and taking joy in unwrapping and nurturing the gifts and talents that exist in the “gift” of each child. Because each gift came from God, it did not need to be altered or modified or diminished in any way, it was perfect creation, the exact way it was presented and had a unique and “one of a kind” perspective and role in the world.
Filly thought of the wise men, and how they brought Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, as their “gifts”. They were wise to bring gifts but they were wiser still, to recognize the “gift” of the life of the baby Jesus as salvation for human kind. They acknowledged with their gratitude and adoration of God this gift of a baby, recognizing that God, by giving them this gift, loved them first.
Yes, Joy to the world, the lord HAS come. Let earth receive her king. Let EVERY heart, prepare him room, and heaven and nature SING.
Learning more about the gifts parents have been given in their children, is enhanced by learning more about the giver of gifts, God. That was why Filly was on her way to church. Filly smiled and rejoiced at all the gifts she was seeing in the world. God IS good. Much to be glad about.