This is War

About a year ago, I was listening to a Christmas playlist, as is custom in December, and I landed upon a song entitled “This is War.” My initial reaction–coming from a person who insists that it’s NOT a Christmas movie unless it’s one hundred percent, start to finish, about Christmas–was that it couldn’t possibly be a Christmas song. However, once I paid attention to the lyrics, I quickly discovered that it in fact is the ultimate Christmas song.

…With downcast hearts, we stood condemned
But the tide turns now at Bethlehem

This is war, and born tonight
The Word as flesh, the Lord of Light
The Son of God, the lowborn King
Whom demons fear, of whom angels sing

…This is war on sin and death
The dark will take its final breath
It shakes the earth, confounds all plans
The mystery of God as man

Chills. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Because here’s the thing: we majorly reduce the true power and beauty of the Christmas story by limiting it to a helpless, human baby in a manger.

Don’t misunderstand me; I LOVE babies and think that snuggling a mini-human is about as close to paradise as we can get on earth. And don’t get me started on the fact that they’re living little miracles. However, there’s really nothing that impressive about a helpless little baby in a manger. It’s not like Jesus was the only baby born that year, or even that day.

We know who Jesus became in his 30s when He began his earthly ministry. Yet we treat baby Jesus just like he was any other infant who became a kid just like any other kid.

I’ve been reading the Lineage of Grace series from Francine Rivers, and I’m on the last book, which is about Mary. (The series, containing five books, fictionally expounds upon the lives of the five women listed in the genealogy of Jesus.) What was interesting to me was her take on Jesus’ childhood, a timespan that very little of is presented in Scripture, because I never thought about the fact that when the Bible tells us that Jesus never sinned, that includes in childhood. Which means he never got in trouble or disrespected or disobeyed his parents in any way. Considering that we humans learn how to sin and disobey our parents before we can even talk, that alone shows that this was no ordinary baby.

Then we get to one of my newest favorite chapters in Scripture: Revelation 12. This chapter talks about Satan being thrown out of Heaven, and it also paints a picture of Satan (depicted as a red dragon) being present at the birth of Jesus, waiting to destroy Him the moment He entered the world.

I actually heard a Christmas-time sermon that referenced this chapter, and the pastor joked that people should add dragons to their nativity scenes. My roommate at the time really liked dragons and just so happened to have a red dragon stuffed animal, so she added it to her table-top nativity scene. It was pretty great.

But why would Satan be so intent on taking out a newborn baby with one foul swoop? If Jesus didn’t gain His power and true identity until adulthood, why not wait until then? Clearly this was no ordinary baby. Well before He could feed himself, talk, or walk, this Baby, who even as He took His first breath was fully God, came to do battle.

Whom demons fear, of whom angels sing

This Christmas, as you glance at your or your neighbor’s nativity scene or as you listen to songs like O Holy Night and O Come O Come Emmanuel, I invite you not to just think of a miracle baby in a manger but to remember the moment when God became God-with-us in order to do battle for us–a battle sealed in victory.

This is war. And [spoiler alert] we win.

“See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

“Hope of all hopes, dream of our dreams, a child is born, sweet-breathed; a son is given to us: a living gift. And even now, with tiny features and dewy hair, He is great. The power of leadership, and the weight of authority, will rest on His shoulders. His name? His name we’ll know in many ways— He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Dear Father everlasting, ever-present never-failing, Master of Wholeness, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6 VOICE)