IT'S A MYSTERY
This week a work of art went on sale at a Miami Beach gallery for $120,000. This creation, entitled "Comedian" by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, consists of a banana duct-taped to a wall. That’s it. Amazing? Even more amazing, two editions of this work sold, and a third is reserved for $150,000! It's an ordinary banana, stuck to an ordinary wall, with ordinary duct tape. The new owners must figure out for themselves what to do when their "masterpiece" decomposes.
Several questions leap to mind; all of which can be summed up with one word: "Why?" Why is a banana duct-taped to a wall considered art? Why would anyone pay $120,000 for it? Why is there no way to preserve the "art" from rotting? I confess ignorance. It's a mystery.
Here's a greater mystery. God saw the "mess" we made of our lives, and fixed it by becoming one of us. He entered our world as a baby, lived as a man and died as a criminal. Again we ask, “Why?” We can only say, "It's a mystery." Sure, we could provide the textbook answer, "Because he loves us." But that dodges the question. Why would the Almighty Creator of the universe love us this much? Maybe we don't need the answer. Maybe we just need to trust Him when He describes His love as "endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding" (Ephesians 3:19).
Even if we don't comprehend it, even if we question it, even if we find it hard to believe, we embrace the mystery, knowing that God has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He takes great delight in us (Zephaniah 3:17). We are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).
This Holiday season, each time you hear a Christmas carol, each time you pass a nativity scene, each time the words "Merry Christmas" pass your lips, pause for a moment. Reflect on God's incomprehensible love, and breathe it in. Hold your head high, knowing how much He loves and values you... and embrace the mystery.
On a scale of one to ten, how well can I embrace the mystery of Christ's Incarnation?
In what specific ways can God's love motivate me to love others more?
"Loving Father, we praise you for the mystery of the Incarnation, and we give you eternal thanks for your incomprehensible love."