Have you ever considered how often in growing up and even now, in adult life, big means scary? I'll never forget the day (I think I was about four years old) when the biggest dog I had ever seen--a St. Bernard--strolled down the street where I lived. My brother and I and a bunch of neighborhood kids were playing tag in our front yard (actually, across several front yards) when the monster dog appeared. We were all so terrified, figuring he could easily bite an arm or leg or head off any one of us, that we fled to our homes. Peering cautiously through curtained windows, we all hid, quaking, till he rounded the corner and disappeared from view. Not many weeks later, his owner showed up with St. Bernie on a leash, and we discovered this dog was one of the gentlest imaginable. He just wagged his tail and drooled while we timorously (and a little sheepishly) patted his huge head. (Within days, an adorable little cocker spaniel, of whom I was not the least bit afraid, gave me a nasty bite.)
When Joel was only a few months old, I allowed a warm and tender friend, who also happens to be one of the biggest men I've ever known--or seen--take Joel into his arms. As soon as my baby saw the size of the face that was smiling into his, he let out an ear-piercing scream. He closed his eyes and kept them closed, continuing to scream, until I took him back into my arms again. I felt awful for him and for George.
Perhaps it's this terror of "bigness" that hinders people, Christians included, from embracing the enormity of God, His utterly mind-boggling power and capacities. No wonder we tend to resist the notion of billions of years, trillions of galaxies, and the unfathomably big bang. As I talked with a friend about what I'm learning (or trying to learn) about super strings and the forces they represent, we both got chills. We decided we'd be terrified of God if He hadn't been so clear about His motives toward us. How did He use His bigness? The evidence shows that He used it to create and care for us. Every detail we discover about the universe and our world shows His preparation, planning, and provision for us infinitesimal (on a cosmic scale) creatures.
But in case we miss the message, in case we're still scared, He sent us Jesus, God Himself in a human body--a baby's body, at that--so that we could be sure of His motives and character, sure of His promises and plans for us, sure of His understanding and compassion, sure of what's important to Him (and what's not). This thought not only renews but also enlarges my desire and capacity to celebrate the Incarnation. I hope it will do the same for you.
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