Taking a Hike Together

And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. (Luke 2:39-40 ESV). Last Sunday we had a little celebration for David’s birthday. Before they came over for snacks and a relaxing visit, he, Becca, and Maggie went to the Dinosaur State Park in Glen Rose, Texas to hike some of the trails. The picture of David and Maggie walking up one of the trails is such an incredible illustration of the life of Christ. David is having no difficulty negotiating the trail, but he waits on Maggie to toddle along at her on speed. He is letting her grow into a great stride as she grows into her full height as an adult. That takes time and paitience. I have seen this in many other situations. When Faith and Logan were born, over twelve years ago, the first time I saw them was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Together we marveled at the tiny, new lives in front of us; they were after all a mere 4 pounds each. However, looking at them now you would never know they were so tiny then. Often Christian parents ask me to pray for their new baby. I find it so powerful to call to mind the image of Jesus coming to this world as a baby. It is an image bursting with the conviction that God intimately understands all of human life. He does not do this from afar, or even just from the perspective of Creator, but because God entered history in the same way each one of us does, as a baby. I marvel at what that says about the character of our God. Of all the “incarnations” God could have picked, God chose to become a baby. God didn’t skip over the processes of gestation, infancy, and childhood development. There is no point on the trajectory of the human lifespan that God has not experienced and understood. From birth to death, God claims solidarity with us, making each step sacred on the developmental journey. Our God is a God who joins us, and whose fullness was pleased to dwell among us, even in the messiness, danger, and fragility of an infant’s body That’s especially comforting to me now as I find my mind willing though my body seems to be unable to comply with some of the directives from it. My mind might tell my body that I can still play soccer with the kids; however, my body is shaking its head in utter disbelief! I’m just not as strong as I might have once been. God knows that and empathizes in a way that brings great comfort to me. He has been here too. He takes the hike with me and walks at the pace I am able to toddle.