New Wineskins
In previous posts I’ve written about why we’re afraid of the supernatural and why God hides the supernatural from us. With that, a final question to ponder is: how can we interact with the supernatural world?
1. Lean into church. If you’re genuinely curious about the supernatural, even if you’re a little fearful, church is designed to be a place where you can discover this hidden world. Church can be intimidating if you’re not a ‘church person,’ if you didn’t grow up in church, if you don’t know the lingo, if you don’t know the Bible stories, if you don’t own a Bible.
Many times to those not familiar with the supernatural, really doing the whole ‘church thing’ is like jumping off the of the high dive at the old public pool. And if you’re too young and don’t remember a day before lawsuits and liability, you missed out on a doozy. The high dive at the local pool was like scaling Mt Everest. When you got up to the top, you froze and were shamed off the edge into the pool against your will. Sometimes we can unintentionally create a very intimidating church environment for those who didn’t grow up in church. Instead of a high dive, churches should be a zero entry pool. Both pools get you wet, but a zero entry is a lot less traumatic.
Don’t just go once a month. Go every Sunday, find a small group and plug in. Church has a purpose, and when you lean in you’ll begin to discover the supernatural.
2. Get to know Jesus. At the end of the day, that’s the reason why Jesus came. God’s always been hidden, and humankind has always sought after God. The beauty and the wonder of the Christmas season is about so much more than trees and tinsel, presents and parties, and even families and faith. Christmas celebrates the moment in human history when God broke through from the supernatural to the natural world and lived among us in flesh and blood. Here’s how John, a follower of Jesus, explained it.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4
This Word is how John referred to Jesus. He was with God at the beginning of time, he is God. All things were created through him and his life is the light of all mankind. That’s great, that’s wonderful, but that’s still hidden from us.
But here’s the good news in verse 14:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
We celebrate Christmas because Christmas marks the moment in human history when God became one of us, God wasn’t hidden, unknown or unseen. God was flesh, God became human, and his name was Jesus. The hidden was no longer hidden, the unknown was no longer unknown. When you believe in Jesus, you believe in God. When you follow Jesus, you follow God. When you get to know Jesus, you engage with the supernatural.
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