“For a child has been born for us, a
son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually, and
there shall be endless peace for the throne of David
and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from
this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
-
Isaiah 9:6-7
There’s
a big difference in how I approach cleaning the toilet versus cleaning my car.
When I approach the toilet bowl, brush in one hand and Clorox in the other, I
do so with a wrinkled nose and a question guiding the process: how quickly can
I do this and it still be considered acceptable? Finishing the job brings no
satisfaction or pride, only relief. If I never had to clean the toilet again,
I’d be a happy man.
But
when I clean my car, the process is much more deliberate—and much more fun. I
take the time to organize my glove box and console, I vacuum out every nook and
cranny, and I even wipe off any smudges on the hubcaps. When the job is done, I
can’t help but admire how shiny and new the car looks. For that moment of satisfaction
alone, I’d wash my car once a week if time and money allowed it.
Though
ultimately the two tasks boil down to the same principle—cleaning something
dirty—my attitude is distinctly different depending on whether I’m cleaning my
toilet or my car. The reason is simple: one is something I have to do and the
other is something I want to do.
During
Advent, we celebrate a different kind of cleanup job, the redemptive sending of
Christ into our fallen world to establish God’s kingdom. Isaiah 9 offers us a
prophetic vision of that kingdom, a reign in which there will be “endless peace,”
upheld with justice and righteousness forever by the one who is called “Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
It
is a vision full of hope, but perhaps the most encouraging note of all comes at
the end of verse 7: “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” This tells us
that God sent His Son not out of a begrudging sense of obligation, nor because
someone twisted His arm to do so. God sent us salvation because He wanted to see us rescued, because He wanted us to know Him and love Him. When
the Word became flesh and lived among us, it was not because He had to, but
because He wanted to.
As
you seek to live in obedience to the God of your salvation, it is worth
considering how zealous your discipleship is. Forgiving those who wrong you, caring
for those in need, giving of yourself for the benefit of others—are these
things you do because you think you have to, or because you want to? Are you truly
loving God and loving people, or just going through the spiritual motions? This
season is full of opportunities to give, serve, and rejoice—may you do so in
the spirit of the Savior, loving not because you have to, but because you want
to.
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