Author: Wick

I’d have to say, one of the first things that caught my eye about my wife = her eyes. I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence that the eyes are often referred to as “windows to the soul”. Her eyes still have the power to communicate wildly to my heart….whether to motivate me to help with a crying baby, or to send the message that I’m loved. 🙂 Both are pretty effective.

But a new realm of optical appreciation has hit me lately. The power of my daughters eyes. It’s ridiculous, and illustrates well the “Weak Force of God” as Caputo would put it. My daughters cannot force me to do anything, physically. Okay, so Sophie can sometimes grab my soul patch with a death grip…and yes, I would have to give in to her demands.

But with one look of their eyes, our older two girls have learned they can send a vice grip deep into daddy’s heart, and twist it whatever direction they want. Okay, maybe that’s not true. They’re still pretty innocent in this area. But it suuuure seems like it sometimes. Happens on a daily basis….sometime between 5 and 7am…..we wake to the words “I’m huuuuuungry.” We look over to see Addie standing there. As long as I keep my eyes closed….I can respond “get back to bed”. But one look into her eyes, even in the half-lit room…and I’m toast.

So am I saying the “Weak Force of God” occurs magically when we “look into His eyes”? Nope. But I think it’s a related kinda power sometimes. Jesus didn’t come into town with trumpets blasting, blazing crown on his head, and a list of “how things were gonna’ change” (said with a thick western sheriff accent).

He came as a baby. He lived towards the lowly. He loved unconditionally. He called “freedom” into the lives of humans who desperately needed it. He stood in the half-lit room, calling out to people who were hungry/sleeping, offering nourishment beyond the imaginable. Infinitely compelling.

We serve a powerful…powerful God….

“Jesus had some choices. He was not born into the worst possible condition. He would have had far fewer options had he been born a woman, or even worse, a woman with a crippling disease. The issue was not how far down on the pyramid he was born but the direction of his gaze.” – T. Richard Snyder

As a week of giving Thanks for all that we have, and all that we are collides with the birth of a new advent season…many of us have already begun speaking of baby Jesus. This past Sunday night my wife and I took our oldest daughter on a drive through a live nativity. The nativity took us from prophecies of Jesus, to his birth, through his life, crucifixion, and even the empty tomb. The narration spoke of Christ’s humble beginnings.

We often emphasize that, and then act as if that was the path Jesus was on. A humble one. Of course he was humble, he was a human from Nazareth, etc.

But Snyder reminds us of an important not-so-secret: Jesus CHOSE to associate/love/relate/”gaze” toward the lower rungs of the socio-political-economic ladder. Why is that important to remember?

In today’s world, we “gaze” toward the higher rungs. We want success, fame, health, fortune, power, prestige, etc. Snyder points out that the power of those in the “middle class” (he admits it’s a very fluid/flexible definition for a group, but nevertheless) is essentially the “power to consume”. That even if/when someone may achieve large success, as the case with many professional sports players, they do not make it to the “top of the pyramid. They can merely buy more toys.”

Philippians 2:7 uses the word “κενόω” (ken-ah-oh) to talk about Jesus “emptying” Himself. What if this year’s Thanksgiving was also attached to our anticipation of Jesus Christ, and all that He brings/announces/transforms? Let me put it more practically:

What if this year, as we spend time listing off each thing we’re thankful for, we also use that as a list of things we want to consciously “release” our possession of towards God? As we thank God for each thing/being we have, we receive a burden for those without it?

May we “gaze” with God’s love, and move toward where that Love is moving…