The Missing Shoe

I wish I did not see all the things I see.  Some folks walked in church this morning and passed by the Nativity Scene characters with a sigh of admiration and appreciation.  It really is something to behold.  There is nothing chintzy about what is just outside the front door.  All the players are on stage and standing there as tall as I am.  This morning though I noticed something odd.  The wise man who was being nuzzled by his camel was not wearing any shoes.  Or, boots.  Or, sandals.  Or, whatever kings are supposed to wear.   

A barefooted king was just too much!  Aside from taking up a collection, I suppose there is nothing that can be done except to recognize that God is like the creators of the Nativity scene.  He is the creator of the unpredictable and full of surprises.  Certainly, Mary and Joseph were surprised with the visit of Gabriel and the message he brought.  Who could have been more surprised than those first century Christians to wake up one morning and hear the news that Saul of Tarsus had become a believer in Jesus?  Of course, a Messiah who died on a cross was too much for anyone to believe!   

Another surprising thing which has never failed to surprise is that God called me to preach.  I always figured when He called me, He was scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Regardless of how we end up living our lives, it is always true that God has blessed us in surprising ways.  When we look back over the span of the years He has given us, we always marvel at the way His hand has brought us to the life we now know.  The life we now know is something which we think of as better than we deserve and also something that is simply another way of naming grace in our life.