How Pretty!

Last night, we had our first snowfall of the season, and it is truly beautiful! It's kinda funny because autum was so warm for so long that the trees never really shed their summer plumage. The snow arrived much earlier than usual, thus falling on leaves that forgot to fall. The affect is breathtaking! As I walked through the parking lot and the tree-lined pathway (it's called a park, but it's really not a park), I could not help but enjoy the sight despite the fact that snow is supposed to be my sworn enemy (I am a beach bum at heart). The USS Barry was behind me, looking very festive, all decked out in colorful lights, the pre-dawn sky rflected off the whiteness all around me, and for a moment, I could imagine that I had stepped into a utopia and I was the only one there (that part was actually true... I'm always on the first to arrive at work). Maybe it's just the fact that Christmas is near and there is nothing like snow to put you in the mood to sit inside and write Christmas cards and listen to the traditional carols, while drinking hot chocolate. It's pretty funny that we have this image, instilled in us since childhood, that lights and snow = Christmas. I mean, it really depends on where you live. In any case, I am going to try to enjoy each coming snowfall as I have enjoyed last night's because I have a feeling there will be many more in the next several months and I might as well be happy rather than miserable =)

Messiah, Christ's Incarnation, and Other Related Topics

This past Friday, I attended Handel's Messiah for the first time in my life. It was at the National Cathedral, which made the setting awe-inspiring, but when the tenor hit the first note as he sang out "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people..." from Isaiah 40, I knew I was in love (with the music, of course =P). It was truly an amazing experience! The entire gospel, set to music and presented in less than 3 hours! I believe that music is the language of the soul. It is one of the many blessings God has bestowed on us to show us His love, both now and through eternity. As the second part began I could not help but wonder what the soloists and choir thought as they sang of Christ's suffering and sacrifice on our behalf (Isaiah 53). Do they know what they are singing? Do they believe it?

Yesterday, at church, we were discussing the two natures of Christ. This led my thoughts back to Messiah and the numerous scripture passages that speak of the reason for Christ's birth. If He did not have to redeem us, He would not have had to take on a human nature. He could have existed as pure diety. I once hear Ravi Zacharias explain Isaiah 9:6 this way: ""For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... Notice the words. He didn’t say the son is born. The son never was born; the son eternally existed..."" He did not need to be born to exist. As humans, we prefer humanity to any other state of being, but that is only because we are finite and cannot truly comprehend the infinite. Christ, who is infinite, was willing to step into time and space to be "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Christ's becoming human was not only a point-in-time occurance, it was an eternity-changing event in every possible way. All who died in Christ (both OT and NT believers) are given eternal life through His one time sacrifice. But this is not the only change. Christ Himself will also be eternally God and man; a constant reminder of His great love for us.