By Mark A. Taylor
Schoolchildren in a Nairobi slum sing with gusto:
Jesus, what a wonder you are!
Their boisterous voices reverberate inside the corrugated tin walls of their tiny classroom:
Oh my Jesus, what a wonder you are!
And any visitor is struck by the wonder that Jesus has moved men and women to serve in this difficult place. A host of smiling teachers stands before thousands of children in classrooms like this one, rising above a sea of 12-by-12 lean-to huts these kids call home. Meanwhile, the school”s well-dressed social workers step over running streams of raw sewage as they walk the slum”s broken paths to visit in the homes of these children. Day after day this army leaves comfortable quarters to serve a population most of the world ignores.
We shake our heads in wonder as we realize why they”re there. Jesus. These people have seen how the love of Jesus transforms lives, even in a place as dark as this.
And we know they have soul mates in every far-flung corner of the globe. From the tragedy of Haiti to the danger of China””and in the rural villages and urban slums of every nation on earth””we find Christians who have come to serve and teach.
They go because of the wonder we remember at Christmas.
Christmas reminds us that God himself surrendered his place in the splendor of Heaven to enter a slum called earth. He left perfection that no man can imagine to walk in a world that no man can manage. He volunteered for duty amid the death and disappointment that are the daily lot of everyone who lives here.
What a wonder, that the Creator of the universe would make himself nothing and take on the form of a servant just to give us hope. Walking amid the squalor of an African slum, we”re overwhelmed that he”s making a difference there. But then we remember how everyone needs him. And we celebrate with wonder that the hope of Christmas shines light in every dark corner: in suburbs and cities deceived by affluence just as surely as in ghettos beaten down by injustice.
We enjoy our Christmas traditions””the parties, the food, the gifts, the music. We happily place a porcelain Jesus in a miniature stable and take pictures of our children dressed in nativity-scene costumes. But when we pause in private to silently ponder what Jesus did and what Jesus offers, we do more than enjoy.
We bow our heads with a prayer of praise:
Oh my Jesus, what a wonder you are!
Thank you, Mark, for such a beautiful picture! I think the longer we follow Christ sometimes the more we need to be reminded what a wonder our Jesus truly is.
Merry Christmas!