"A Strange Way"

When God came down the way He chose,

Was strange as strange can be,

No fanfare recognition,

Or announcements on TV.

No marketing, no media,

No money spent at all,

No ambassadors to go before,

No press release or call.

No big city just a country town,

In a borrowed place his birth,

Parents whom nobody knew,

A back door route to earth.

Shepherds with no fame or voice,

Foreigners who came,

Angels fading in the night,

And no one knew their name.

God conceived, a single cell,

The limits that He chose,

Through the virgin’s pregnancy,

How hard it was, God knows.

The groaning curse of Adam’s seed,

The burden of the years,

The Son who came to bear it all,

And wipe away our tears,

Came incognito, secretly,

So deeply human, he,

And yet the very light of God,

So one day all would see,

The One who left the glory,

And laid aside His reign,

The Word made flesh His story,

And died to live again,

Came quietly the first time,

The next with trumpet sound,

Every knee and every tongue,

Will bow this second round.

And until then we celebrate,

Our God, Emmanuel,

With us and so loved us,

We cannot help but tell.

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God call you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless, to shame those who are powerful.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27, NLT)

God specializes in calling, saving and using people no one else would pick. He did it when He entered the world and He did it as the Gospel message spread throughout the known world. Jesus Himself was criticized for associating with people of ill repute, but He did so to show them God’s salvation. Paul became all things to all men so that he could win some. And so it goes. When we see people the way God does we learn to never write them off. Why? Because you never know who will come to their senses and end up being a useful, fruitful instrument in His hands.

Lord, help us to value people the way You do, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jack Sorenson, used by permission. Thanks, Jack, and God bless you.