THE GOD OF SURPRISES

Don’t you love surprises? Years ago, when my dad turned 75, my sister and I concocted a scheme to surprise him. I made up some lame excuse for not attending his party, but the whole time I planned on showing up. On the day of his birthday, I flew in and rented a car. Just before arriving at his house, I phoned, expressing my heart-felt regrets.

I parked a couple of houses down, and walking up to his home, we continued talking. I rapped on his door, but he ignored my knocking, so I pounded louder. Eventually he opened it, and we stood face to face, holding our phones to our ears. He froze, staring in confusion. He looked at me, then at his phone, then back at me.  Finally, the reality him, and overcome with emotion, he started crying.   It was one of those rare moments you wish you could freeze frame. We had managed to pull off the surprise. 

 But even greater than the surprise, was the gift of my presence.  Sure, I could’ve wished him a happy birthday over the phone, and uttered the exact words I did in person. But it meant so much more for me to expend the time and effort to personally be with him on his birthday. Our personal presence is the greatest present we can present to anyone.

 It's the same with God. You think we love surprises? God is the greatest "surprise artist" of all, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Christmas story. The angel Gabriel comes to Mary, telling her she's going to have a baby, even as a virgin. SURPRISE! Then Joseph discovers she's pregnant. SURPRISE! Then an angel informs him that Mary's telling the truth. SURPRISE! They travel to Bethlehem, and God's Son is born in an animal stable. SURPRISE! Shepherds drop in late at night to worship their Son. SURPRISE! Then there's the surprises of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and of Anna, Simeon and the Magi. I think you get the idea. 

 But just as I learned, the presence of someone we love is even greater than the surprise itself. Consider how amazing this is: The Creator of the universe, wanted to personally be present with us so much, that he entered our world as a baby! God could've simply left us a message, which he did with the Bible.  But even greater, He chose to personally show up for our us as the Living Word; the greatest present ever given! John 1:14 reveals, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." One of the names for Jesus is Immanuel, "God With Us" (Matthew 1:23). 

He's The God of Surprises, and he really knows how to throw a surprise party. If you get surprised this Christmas by a wonderful gift, just know God is smiling...because more than anyone else, he loves a good surprise.